Baby Makes Three
by raffinit
Summary: With a baby on their doorstep and a whole bunch of Rizzoli family drama to deal with, Jane and Maura struggle to find ways to cope with their jobs and being new parents. Rizzles but it'll get there a little slower than I'd hoped. M for later chapters.
1. you and me, baby

**I took this down a couple of months ago, and I realized that I shouldn't have. I've grown to hate the Criminal Minds fandom, and they've grown to hate me, but it's okay because I've got Rizzles and they're perfect. **

**If you don't remember, Baby Makes Three takes place immediately after Melt My Heart to Stone; Jane finds TJ (although here he isn't named TJ) on their doorstep.**

* * *

It…was a baby.

There was a baby in her arms.

There was a cold, snuffly, _boy_ baby in her arms.

A cold, snuffly, boy baby that could either be her nephew…or her _brother_.

Oh my God.

"Oh my God," Detective Jane Rizzoli breathed, as she stared down at the bundle in her arms and tried to register the fact that the tiny, - admittedly adorable – being she held there shared her blood, but also that his mother had left him in a basket on their doorstep. The doorstep of the family that she had essentially torn apart, and then taken advantage of and –

The baby started to fuss, and Jane felt the panic kick her in the gut as he began to writhe about restlessly. "Okay, okay, it's okay, baby, please don't cry," she hushed him hurriedly, pulling him closer into her arms and rocking him gently as she crooned and hushed him into silence. The baby was small and wrinkly, but still cute, and the blue cap on his head was pulled low over a scrunched up nose and rooting mouth. For all intents and purposes, Jane could appreciate his adorability as, well, an infant, but he was also the last thing they needed to handle at the current moment.

Vaguely she could hear Angela calling her from the living room – the living room where her best friend was recovering from yet _another _traumatic incident -, and Jane pulled the baby to her chest, as if she was afraid Angela would hear him. Jane made a face as she groaned, staring down at the baby boy with torn dark eyes as she struggled with her decisions of what to do with him. She could drive over to Tommy; drop the kid off there because hey, it might've been his! She was tired of handling all of Tommy's crap anyway, and the damn boy had to learn how to take responsibility of things!

But then the hard-ass Boston detective stared down at the little baby's innocent face; the sweet and untouched face of a child that had come into the world in circumstances he did not choose, and Jane felt her heart break into a million pieces. She couldn't do that to the baby. She couldn't turn him to a train wreck like Tommy – not after his train wreck of a mother had abandoned him.

"Damn it," she mumbled, wincing as the baby snuffled in her hold again, but breathed a sigh of relief when he did nothing more. Jane couldn't help the warmth that spread through her chest at the sight of the bundle; damn her female natural instincts of motherhood, but she was falling in love with the baby and she knew that she wasn't supposed to.

"Come on, little man," she murmured to him, husky voice surprisingly soothing to the infant as she turned back into the warmth of the brownstone hallway. "Let's go see Maura, huh? You'll love her."

* * *

Jane and Maura sat on the couch, knees touching, bodies nudging as Jane leaned over into Maura's shoulder and watched in awe as the ME cradled the baby boy lovingly in her arms. Angela had all but snatched him out of Jane's arms when she'd walked back into the living room with him, but Jane had somehow managed to steal the baby back when Angela began shrieking about calling Tommy and Frankie and finding Lydia. Not that Jane minded though – let the boys handle the drama for once; Maura was recovering, and she was on Maura watch.

"He's so tiny," Maura sighed, a dreamy undertone to her words as she stroked her slender finger along the baby's downy cheek. He was nestled comfortably in her arms, resting in the nook of her elbow as he snuffled and puffed in his sleep. Her hazel eyes were warm and loving, so openly adoring of the baby that Jane was almost thankful that Lydia had left him on their doorstep.

It gave Maura something else to think about, other than very nearly dying for the billionth time.

Jane made a note to keep her stitched to her side from now on.

"Yeah," Jane breathed; her hot breath tickling Maura's ear. "I damn near thought it was a doll when I first opened the door."

Maura tsked, turning to glare mildly at her best friend as she held the baby closer to her. "Jane," she admonished the Italian woman, eyebrow arching when Jane let out an incredulous 'what?' "Language – babies learn to recognize and adapt to their mother's voice very shortly after birth. Don't swear in front of him!"

Jane rolled her eyes, leaning back slightly to throw her arm over Maura's back as the honey blonde leaned back into her arm. "Yeah well, I'm not his mother, and he doesn't know what I'm saying anyway," she grumbled. Presently though she found herself staring down at the baby, brows creasing with her troubled thoughts as she struggled to figure out what to do, who to call and how to react if the baby decided to wake up and demand a boob in his mouth.

"What do we do, Maura?" she husked quietly, her voice lower than usual – she was tired, they all were, and Jane was sure if she downed anymore coffee, she was going to lose her voice entirely. She dropped her head back onto the back of the couch, sighing heavily as she dragged her free hand over her weary face. Her other hand was now wrapped around Maura's slender frame, holding the woman close as Maura dropped her head onto Jane's bony shoulder and relaxed into the taller woman's body.

Maura sighed quietly, feeling her body mold into Jane's side as she held the baby higher in her arms and draped him over her shoulder to lie vertically on her chest. They were practically lying on the couch now, but neither Jane nor Maura seemed to mind the slightest. Maura worried at her bottom lip as she glanced up at her best friend's tired face – she was tired too; tired and scared and just…drained, but she felt the tug in her chest that Maura could never deny.

"We could…keep him," she uttered lightly, trying her best to sound blasé, when in reality the ME was suggesting something equivalent to marriage. "Lydia left him here with us – it's obvious that she trusts us enough to know that we could provide a better home and a happier life for him than she could have."

Jane's face scrunched up again as she groaned lowly, turning her head to give Maura a pained sidelong glance. "We can't keep a baby, Maura," she croaked; the sadness in her voice was almost overwhelming. "We don't have the time or the skills; we work almost 20 hour days, we literally throw our lives down on the table almost every day -." She shook her head incredulously.

"It wouldn't be fair to him, Maura. It wouldn't be fair to him, _and _us." Jane turned her head fully now to regard Maura, dark eyes pleading with the ME's stubborn hazel gaze to understand what she was saying – to understand why this was such a bad, bad idea.

Maura frowned at her stubbornly, hazel eyes suddenly indignantly bright and lips pursed in a hard line. The baby snuffled slightly in his sleep, but remained asleep as Maura extracted herself from Jane's embrace to turn to the Italian detective with a firm glare. "My parents worked as well," she reminded Jane, gratified when Jane looked away almost guiltily. "Perhaps they may not have been the most attentive parents, but I'm very certain that I will never in any way neglect a child – be it of my own blood or otherwise. These circumstances almost mirror my own when I was given to Constance by my…father."

The well in her throat caught Maura off-guard, and Jane rubbed at her thigh soothingly when she realized this. But the Chief Medical Examiner shook her head resolutely, cleared her throat, and continued. "I'd like to keep this baby, as Lydia would have wanted us to. I'm a successful, well-paid professional woman with access to the best medical care and insurance to cover family and children; I have a comfortable home and a vast variety of connections. I don't think I could live with myself if I let him…bounce around in the system!"

"I'm not saying that you would, Maur," Jane insisted, sitting up as well now. "I'm just saying that – a Medical Examiner and a Homicide detective don't exactly make for the best parents to raise a kid!" she exclaimed, gesticulating in emphasis between the limited space between them. Jane stared at Maura for a moment, wide-eyed and breath-held, before sighing heavily and running her hand through her dark hair. "Maur, how are we going to wake up with him a four o'clock in the morning, feed him and change his diapers if we're too busy chasing down perps and serial killers?!"

Later on though, looking back, Jane would realize that she had found no issue in the fact that she did not exactly _live _with Maura, and 'their' doorstep was actually 'Maura's' doorstep.

"…I never said _you_ had to raise him with me."

Jane's brows met in confusion, turning to Maura. "What are you talking about? What -."

Maura inclined her head calmly, rocking the baby gently in her arms. The motion seemed to soothe both the baby and the woman, and so the ME continued her gentle swaying as she regarded Jane's bewildered stare with an almost coy indifference. "I never said you had to raise him with me," she repeated again. "I said _I_ wasn't going to neglect the child." She smiled at Jane slightly when the woman began to sputter indignantly; reaching out with her free hand to rest over Jane's to silence her.

"Like I'd let you get stuck with my wreck of a brother – or father –'s baby!" Jane scowled at her. God, she was handling enough Rizzoli family drama to already count as a Rizzoli herself! Unfortunately though, Jane found herself unable to maintain her defiance, as always, when it came to Maura, and her dark eyes softened on the pretty ME. "We're in this together, Maur. Ain't nothing's gonna change that – not even stinky diapers and 3am feedings."

The blonde nodded her head at her best friend with a smile, stroking Jane's scar with her thumb soothingly until she saw the tension seep from Jane's wiry shoulders. The detective was high-strung on a good day – after having to save her for the umpteenth time, Maura was sure she would work herself up into a frenzy. "I know these aren't the most favorable circumstances to endure, Jane, but I…I think we were meant to keep him."

Maura gazed down at the baby boy's innocent face; the Cupid's bow mouth and soft cheeks and long lashes – he was definitely a Rizzoli. She turned back up to Jane, and was pleasantly surprised to find the woman staring back her almost lovingly, tears welled in her eyes. "So what do you say, Jane?" she whispered, clutching tight to Jane's hand, where the Italian had taken hers in both hands and begun to massage along her wrist.

Jane sighed huffily, casting a sidelong benevolent glare at her best friend before staring down at the baby asleep in Maura's arm. It was a good look on her; motherhood. She could already imagine coming home after work, seeing Maura with the baby in his nursery, playing with him at bath time, reading him bedtime books and teaching him about the Sox and Celtics and how to steal base. Jane heaved another sigh, cursing herself for already picturing what it would be like to come home to Maura and a little boy – a little boy with dark hair and dark eyes like her, because he was a Rizzoli after all.

"I think…," she began slowly, turning to Maura with a careful, unsure glance. She saw the hopeful, pleading look on Maura's face there, and she knew she was utterly, completely whipped into diaper duty for the next six months. "I think he needs a name, doesn't he?" A slow smile began to spread across Jane's face when she saw Maura's eyes light up and a grin split her mouth, and suddenly it didn't seem like such a bad idea. "I mean, we can't be calling him Rizzoli Junior forever, can we?"

"Why does he only get your last name?" Maura countered, brows pulled together adorably. "I'm raising him too."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Fine then, _you _pick his name."

Maura gazed down at the baby for a moment, tickling his chin slightly as he yawned and flailed his little tiny fists out, smiling widely. "I've always liked the name Wyatt," she said quietly. "It's Old English for 'warrior strength'." She turned to Jane with a radiant smile that the detective could've sworn melted her heart into a mess at her feet.

A crooked smile graced Jane's face, and she moved in closer to Maura's side. "I guess that's what a Rizzoli is essentially, huh?" She reached down and stroked the baby's head, tracing his features with a gentle finger as she leaned into Maura and shared a smile with the woman for a long moment. "That's pretty much what an Isles is too."

There was a rush of heat to Maura's cheeks, and the ME smiled shyly at the woman's intense gaze. "Do you want him to have a middle name?" she asked Jane. They both had middle names – Jane had one long-sufferingly – she thought it best to name the boy something he'd be proud to write on his books and papers.

Jane licked her lips, gnawing at her lower lip as she thought for a moment, frowning as she remembered a particular name she'd always thought to name her kids. "Alexander," she said slowly, and Maura physically had to suppress a shiver at the way it rolled off Jane's tongue.

"That's a good choice," she said finally, a little breathless. "Alexander comes from the Greek words for 'defender of men'." They shared a wry smile. This baby was definitely a Rizzoli, through and through.

"Alright then, it's settled," Jane announced, slapping her thigh slightly before straightening with a dramatic flare. "Welcome to the family, Wyatt Alexander Rizzoli-_Isles_." She shot Maura a look.

"Why does your name go first?"

Jane groaned, slumping back onto the couch. "Maura!"


	2. baby steps

**For this fic, it follows canon where Tommy is confirmed as the father. I firmly believe that Frank left Lydia after finding out about the pregnancy because he knew the baby couldn't have possibly been his.**

* * *

While the name issue had yet to be resolved – Maura and Jane were still dithering between official names, because Maura wanted Isles-Rizzoli and Jane obviously wanted it the other way around. And then there was the issue of which name sounded best with which combination, and Jane all but tore out chunks of her long, dark hair in the process.

"Maura, it doesn't matter, okay? It doesn't!" she exclaimed, flailing her hands in the air that suspiciously mimicked the act of strangling the woman. "We've had him for two hours – can we at least officially establish that his mother hasn't gone off her rocker and hitched a ride to Texas or something before we start planning his college fund?!"

And so they'd left it at that.

Presently though the baby was being fed with the formula bought by Frankie (as requested by his big sister) and cuddled by Jane's mother, while Jane and Maura spoke with Frankie in the foyer. The male Rizzoli had raged a fury at the news, snorting like a bull and sputtering about dragging their Pop and Tommy by the ears over to handle this mess, but Jane had calmed the boy and gruffly told him to get in line behind her. The next time she saw either one of them; there was no telling what she'd do to them.

Frankie gave a disgruntled sigh, dressed down and looking marginally uncomfortable with the fact that their mother was holding the potential bastard child of her ex-husband. "I've got a BOLO out on Lydia, but no dice so far," he told his sister, feeling the tension coil tighter in both their shoulders. "It's like she fell off the God damn radar or somethin'!"

Jane sneered bitterly. "Yeah, she doesn't know who knocked her up, but sure, she can drop off the face of the Earth." The lanky detective jumped when Maura's hand slapped across her stomach, and Jane scowled into a begrudging silence. She huffed irritably and stomped her feet at her brother impatiently. "Did you get Tommy or what?" she demanded.

Lord help her, but she was going to castrate that hot mess of a brother of hers if he didn't learn to grow the hell up!

Frankie's shoulder raised a touch, his face flat as he regarded his sister. "Phone's dead; apartment's empty – if I didn't know any better, I'd say they skipped town together," he told her. He shook his head, scowling in disgust. Honestly; _how _did Tommy's mind function? Was it like that in every family? Was there always one that turned out as a convicted felon and screw-up like the youngest Rizzoli? "I swear, Janie – when I get my hands on him, I'm takin' him to the vet and gettin' him neutered."

"Damn right," Jane growled, giving the air a solid punch. She shifted on her feet, bouncing on them impatiently as she turned to Maura with wide, apologetic eyes. "I'm so sorry, Maur." Her hands came up to caress the shorter woman's elbow and arms, stroking and soothing them as she stared into Maura's confused hazel eyes. "You shouldn't have to handle all this bullshit – it's not fair to you at all." Guilt sat heavy in the detective's chest, like a boulder chained to her body as she inwardly damned herself for letting Maura take the heat for this.

"I swear to you, Maura, we'll find Lydia and Tommy, we'll get a paternity test done and we'll hand them their kid back -."

Maura jumped out of Jane's hold, stepping back as her eyes widened at the woman and her jaw dropped in protest. "Why would we give him back?" She stared incredulously at Jane, brows knitted together as she stared hard at her best friend's face and demanded an explanation that Jane could only speak of in sputters and verbal pauses. "Lydia left him with us, Jane. It's clear that she either doesn't believe she can provide for Wyatt, or that she doesn't want to. He's a Rizzoli, whether you like it or not, and he's staying with family." The Medical Examiner folded her arms stubbornly, thrust out her chin sharply at Jane and set her feet firmly in the ground.

There was no way she was budging about this decision, and there was no way Jane was going to make her.

"She's got a point, Janie," Frankie piped up, shrugging when Jane cast a withering glare his way. The Doc always had a point, but it was fun ragging on Jane when she was riled up like that.

Jane threw her hands up in exasperation, muttering under her breath at a God that she knew was laughing at the entire situation between swigs of beer and bites of his burger. She could snap at Maura; tell her this wasn't _her _family and that it really was none of her business what they did with the baby, but…it wouldn't be true. Not to mention that it would be cruel and heartless and vicious, and Jane Rizzoli couldn't possibly bring herself to say such a thing to Maura.

The adorably awkward Medical Examiner was an honorary Rizzoli whether Jane wanted to admit it or not.

"So where does he sleep then?" she persisted heatedly, gesturing wildly at the house. "What do we do? What do we dress him in? What do we feed him? We gave everything to Lydia already -."

"Not everything," Maura countered calmly. "There were some things left behind when we drove her to her mother's. They're all in my guest bedroom."

Struggling to resist rolling her eyes, Jane ground her teeth hard. "Well gee, there is a God after all, then," she deadpanned snidely. Ugh, couldn't they ever catch a break?

Suddenly Jane waved her hands between the three of them, as if clearing away a mist that the others could not see, and waved away Maura's befuddled expression. "Okay, okay, fine." She sighed heavily, shoulders sagging in defeat under Maura's stubborn glare and Frankie's amused smirk. She scowled at her brother. "Alright already, we're keeping him. Ain't you got somewhere else to be?" She shot him a pointed glare.

Frankie's eyebrows shot up indignantly. "What? I don't get to take a look at the little tyke? He's my er…relative too!" His mouth curled uncertainly at the title; and he smothered a shiver of disgust at thinking of the baby as his little brother. Eventually Frankie held his hands up in surrender, waving the ME's invitation away. "No, no, on second thought…s'alright. I ah…I'll come by tomorrow morning or somethin'. Get some sleep - you both look beat." He offered Maura an apologetic smile before biding them both a goodnight.

Chuckling to himself, Frankie let himself out, striding down Maura's front yard with a smile on his handsome face as he heard Jane and Maura's voices bickering at the doorway. Even if he didn't think too highly of his brother, Lydia _and _his father, Frankie was thankful for one thing about the baby being dropped off at Maura's doorstep.

Maybe now Jane and Maura could get a clue about what was so painfully obvious to the rest of the world.

* * *

Jane trudged into the house again, slouching heavily as she dragged her sore feet down the hall into the bathroom to clean up. It was an unspoken acknowledgement that she was spending the night at Maura's – the poor ME had been through enough for one day, and Jane was set on keeping the honey blonde within sight at all times. Not that Maura minded at all, really; she enjoyed Jane's company in her home and in her bed, if only for the warm body to cuddle up next to.

She washed up, burning the remnants of the day off her skin until she was pink and slightly cooked, and tossed her clothes into the laundry basket under the bathroom sink. Jane sighed as she leaned against the marble bath counter, staring at her misty reflection and letting the damp air settle on her skin. To call it a shit day would be putting it mildly; Jane couldn't count the times she'd stared death in the face, drove a bullet through her own gut, brought it down to its knees and plunged a scalpel through its chest – none of it had ever put such fear and terror in her body than it had when Maura was involved.

Every time the blonde was threatened; every time some crazy lunatic got his smarmy hands on the perfectly put-together ME – it made Jane's stomach leaden and her heart lodge in her throat. It made her mind cloudy and unfocused, it made her see Maura and only Maura in her mind's eyes – how to get to Maura, how to save Maura. It gave her nightmares to this day; Hoyt finishing what he promised to, or all the other crazy sons of bitches she'd had to beat into submission for laying a finger on her Maura.

_Her _Maura.

When did it get to this?

Jane sighed, running her fingers through her damp curls, already drying out into an unruly tangled mass, and sagged into the bath counter. She was exhausted. She was sure Maura was too. It wasn't supposed to happen like this – she wasn't supposed get caught in the middle and Lydia's baby should not have gotten left at their doorstep. If she had just beaten that jerkoff into a pulp when she had the chance –

_Don't, Jane. This wasn't your fault and you know it._

Jane let out a displeased grunt, glaring hard at her reflection. The voice in her head sounded suspiciously like Maura's melodic tone, and though she tried hard; Jane couldn't even deny _imaginary _Maura. "Whipped, Rizzoli," she growled at her reflection, scowling. "You are so whipped."

Whipped by her best friend and only other consistent person in her life, but whipped nonetheless.

Funnily enough though; Jane didn't seem all that shook up about it. What she was more concerned about though was the fact that her mother and Maura were getting attached to a baby she wasn't sure they could handle. Having Maura in her life had already put the ME in more danger than she cared to remember, but adding a baby to the equation – Jane groaned inwardly, laying her head on her folded arms.

"Strap on a pair, Rizzoli," she grumbled to herself, muffled into her skin as she dragged her head off her arm and forced herself to straighten on her feet. "Until either Lydia or Tommy get a clue about where their lives are going, you're pulling diaper duty with Maura."

Could they do this? Could they really play 'happy family' and raise a baby? They weren't a couple – despite what the rest of the world believed – and they weren't even anywhere near thinking about having kids of their own! Could they really juggle jobs like theirs _and _make time to bring up a kid without turning him into a sociopathic serial killer?

Apparently Maura thought so, and that was good enough for Jane?

_Hey, look on the bright side. At least you don't have to breastfeed it._

Jane scowled at the voice, slamming the bathroom door shut as images of Maura's bare chest began to fill her mind. "You're killing me," she hissed, and Maura paused outside the bathroom door when she began to hear a repetitive thudding of something hard against the walls of her bathroom.

* * *

By the time she'd ambled out of the bathroom, dressed in sweats and a tank top as always and nursing a pounding headache, Jane was stopped in her steps towards the bed when her dark eyes fell upon the flawless honey blonde seated at the edge of the bed. Her dark eyes tracked along Maura's body, the legs bare under the silk robe that wrapped so suggestively around her body that Jane was sure it was tailor-made for the ME.

The fine silk parted at the chest, a revealing split flashing the pale skin of Maura's lace-encased breast at the detective like a wink as Maura shifted the bundle in her arms and turned to Jane, her pretty mouth splitting into a languid smile at the sight of the detective.

She had undressed while Jane had showered – the taller woman rarely ever used the guest room now –, and while waiting for Jane to finish, thought to spend some time with the gurgling baby. Wyatt was an exceptionally quiet baby, and though he felt somewhat small to Maura, seemed to be a perfectly healthy baby. Just to be sure though, she made a mental note to bring Wyatt in for a check-up tomorrow.

Jane perched herself at Maura's side, balancing carefully as she gave Maura a small smile, eyes warming despite herself as she stared down at the honey blonde's upturned face. "He okay?" she asked quietly, leaning over slightly to gaze down at Wyatt's peacefully slumbering face.

"He's surprisingly a very quiet boy," Maura told her best friend, shifting to lift Wyatt in her hands as she shifted him into a startled Jane's arms. "Babies are commonly very compliant for the first few weeks of their lives. Aside from crying when hungry or soiled, they're mostly content with being held or asleep. Newborns can sleep about twenty minutes to four hours at a time, depending on their maturity. Pre-mature babies usually sleep less due to their slightly under-developed stomachs; they get hungrier easier."

Through the barrage of information being thrown at her, Jane had settled Wyatt comfortably into her arms and was rocking the baby slightly as she stared up at Maura with an expression that bordered affectionate irritation. It was good to see Maura back to her old self; she didn't even mind the Google-mouthing that much, if it put such a pleased look on the blonde's face. Even Wyatt seemed to be enjoying Maura's rambling.

"Look at that," Jane said suddenly; showing the baby to Maura when Wyatt jerked his head at her direction, flailing his arms slightly and curling them back into his body. A grin split her mouth so wide it nearly hurt, and Jane's eyes were sparkling when they met Maura's. "He's recognizing your voice already." She cuddled Wyatt closer to her chest, sliding her finger into the baby's hand and laughing quietly when he clung onto it tightly. "You're a smart little fella, aren't ya?"

"He's reacting on reflex," Maura corrected her, and shrugged innocently when Jane rolled her eyes at her. "It's true." She rose from the bed, sliding a hand along Jane's thigh gently as she went, smiling at the lanky woman when Jane made a face at her. "Alright, so perhaps he's more… responsive than most newborns," she conceded finally, turning on her heels to glide gracefully into the bathroom.

"That's because he's a Rizzoli," Jane called out to her, grinning when Maura paused at the bathroom doorway to raise an eyebrow.

Even through the lighting of the bathroom and her side profile, Jane could see Maura's eyes narrowing benevolently at her. "He's a Rizzoli-_Isles_, and he's just spit-up on you."

"Aw, come on!"

The smile that graced Maura's face could only be described as triumphantly pleased as she walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.


	3. sleeping positions

Maura sighed contentedly as she stepped out of her shower, steam and wet heat engulfing the room and her body as she unraveled her hair from its ponytail. The hot shower was exactly what she needed – the scalding water soothed her aches; burned away the memories of the day and the feeling of Dennis Rockmond's hands on her skin. It was pleasant and calming; a perfect distraction from the tumultuous end of her day.

The blonde ME dressed in her pajamas; silk shorts and tank in the soft shade of green as she towel-dried the ends of her hair that hadn't escaped the spray of her shower. The sight that greeted her as she entered the bedroom brought an affectionate smile to Maura's face and a surge of warmth in her chest. Sprawled comfortably on her 'side' of the bed, Jane was leaned against the headboard, snoring quietly in her REM cycle sleep; usually a very common sight after draining cases or brushes with death, but there was one very small difference this time around.

Nestled against her chest, supported by Jane's protective hand splayed across his little newborn back, Wyatt slept on peacefully; completely unfazed by the rumbling of the detective's snores in her chest.

Maura sighed quietly, shaking her head fondly as she took in the sight before her. It was an adorable sight; a peek into the softer side of Jane Rizzoli that only Maura had been blessed to see up close.

Contrary to the Boston detective's seemingly surly disposition; Jane was really quite a softy underneath.

At least, she was when it came to the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Stepping lightly around the bed, Maura drew back the covers on her side, but paused in her step before she could slip under the covers beside Jane. Wyatt was still asleep on her chest, on his front, and Maura frowned uncertainly at the slumbering baby's snuffling breaths.

They would need to move him.

Gently, she reached out for Jane's shoulder, grasping the bony joint in her hand lightly. Anything harsher and she would wake the detective with fear. "Jane," she whispered.

At the touch of fingers on her skin, Jane's eyes snapped open, dark eyes coming into focus almost immediately as she sat up; Wyatt tucked protectively against her chest. Her entire body tensed; muscles roping her arms and shoulders coiled tight as she stared blearily across the bed at the offending shadow.

When she recognized the apologetic face and the soft fingers grasping the skin of her shoulder, Jane frowned at Maura through the dim moonlight creeping in through the windows. "Maura?" she rasped, shifting Wyatt in her hold and releasing a hand to run through her tangled curls. "What's wrong?"

Maura knelt closer on the bed, the mattress dipping under her slight weight as she glided her fingers down along Jane's shoulder onto her arm where she held Wyatt. Her smile was apologetic and soft when Jane's eyes tracked her hand, falling on the baby.

"We need to move him," she told the dark-haired woman quietly, her voice no higher than a husky whisper to avoid waking the baby. "It's not highly encouraged to co-sleep with infants under one year of age – there are risks of smothering and SIDS -."

"Maura," Jane interrupted her suddenly, holding her free hand up. "It's the middle of the night – I've got half a brain functioning right now and the left side of my body falling asleep on the count of Junior drooling on me here." She waved her hand in a gesture for Maura to speed things up. "Simplify it, please."

The ME blushed prettily in the dim room, clearing her throat quietly when Jane smiled wryly at her. "It's not safe for him to sleep with us," she explained, tucking her feet under her as she leaned towards Jane and held out her arms for the baby. "The mortality rate for infants who fall victim to SIDS from co-sleeping with their parents is higher than when asleep in their own beds…I think it's best if Wyatt sleeps in his bassinet to keep him comfortable, and to give you freedom to move around." Maura sat back on her feet, regarding Jane anxiously as the woman's face seemed grim in the shadows across her face.

They were silent for a moment; Maura watching uncertainly and Jane contemplating distractedly before the darker woman leaned forward suddenly and carefully placed the sleeping baby in Maura's arms. She said nothing, already sliding out of bed and staggering to her feet. It was dark and she was sleep-hazed; keeping her balance was a task in itself. But Maura had a point, and Maura needed something, so Jane obliged her.

"Jane…?" Maura called to her in confusion, holding Wyatt close to her as she watched the taller woman stumble out of the room and disappear into the dark hall. The blonde frowned as quiet clattering and low muttering came from the hallway, jolting slightly when there was a loud thud and Jane's voice swearing at something viciously. Maura made to move off the bed to investigate, but Jane had re-appeared in her bedroom doorway, feet stumbling and stubbing over the bassinet legs as she hauled the contraption into the room.

With a triumphant huff, Jane set the bassinet down by the bed, straightening the device to her satisfaction and stepping back with a resolute grunt. "There," she said, stepping back with her arms akimbo as she accessed her handiwork. Upright, sturdy, and covered in something so frilly that only Maura would pick – yes, this was the perfect bassinet for the kid. Jane fluffed the tiny pillow inside the bassinet and draped the baby blue blanket over her arm, waiting quietly as Maura bent over to place Wyatt in the sleeper.

Aside from being woken from her much-needed sleep, Jane couldn't help but smile quietly to herself as she watched Maura adjust Wyatt this way and that, smiling even bigger and feeling even funnier in her chest when Maura placed a loving kiss on Wyatt's forehead. She stepped up to the blonde, one hand skimming the gauzy material covering her back before settling in its place at the small of her back. Maura shifted aside for Jane to slide in beside her, and the Italian woman draped the blanket over Wyatt's sleeping figure, tucking it neatly around the edges and even sparing a gentle brush of her hand over his head before straightening to Maura with a sleepy smile.

"Come on, Maura," she husked, long fingers looping around the blonde's slender wrist. "It's bedtime for us too."

Humming quietly, the ME didn't protest, instead Maura gladly trailed after Jane back into bed, curling onto her side as Jane rounded the bed and settled back into her side as well. Maura smiled at Jane against her pillow, reaching out to squeeze the brunette's hand slightly. "Goodnight," she whispered, and turned over to face the windows.

As expected, the warmth of Jane's body came pressed up behind her in a matter of moments, firm lines and muscles that Maura could feel through the thin materials of their sleepwear, and smiled inwardly when Jane's arm wrapped around her waist almost possessively. She felt Jane sigh, and she could smell the mint of her toothpaste and musk she came to associate with the detective.

The hot gust of breath against her ear tickled, and Maura couldn't smother the shiver dancing down her spine when Jane spoke. "G'night, Maura."

Tentatively, Maura's hand glided down, fingertips grazing the taut skin of Jane's arm wrapped around her waist. Behind her she felt Jane relax even deeper into the later stages of sleep, and Maura found the burst of courage in her chest to rest her hand over Jane's. A small, pleased smile graced the ME's face, and Maura finally settled into her own sleep cycle with little fanfare.

Unbeknownst to her though; Jane was grinning right along her.

* * *

There was crying.

There was _loud _crying.

Jane groaned into Maura's thick curls, burrowing deeper into the woman's sweet scented hair and pressing firmer against Maura's soft skin. She was rather certain it was _real _crying too, because she didn't dream about crying babies, unless someone counted that one time she had been shot and then doped on morphine for the pain. But then that time it was a crying mutant ninja turtle baby, and it kept crying that it _wasn't _a turtle, it was a tortoise, and –

The crying grew louder.

"Gaaaaah what…?" Reluctantly, Jane pulled her face from Maura's hair, glaring through squinted eyes out at the room in search of the source of cries. It took a moment for her eyes to clear, and then another moment for her mind to slowly connect the dots before Jane groaned again, swearing under her breath as she saw the baby's little fists flailing about over the bassinet rim. She carefully extracted her arm from under Maura, eliciting a protesting moan from the blonde, but Jane forced herself to focus on the crying boy, and to getting him to quiet down before he woke Maura too.

Unfortunately the jostling from Jane wriggling her hand from under her stirred Maura, and the blonde moaned groggily as she turned towards the woman. Jane knelt on a knee on the bed, hovering over the sleep-clouded ME, murmuring hushed but hurried croons to the woman. "S'alright, babe, go back to sleep – s'just the baby," she croaked, in the heady early morning and thick Boston cold air. Jane cleared her throat discreetly, waving the woman back to sleep; rubbing soothing circles along Maura's arm to urge her back to her dreams.

"Go back to sleep," she said again, gentler this time. "I'll take care of it."

Maura mewled and moaned into her pillow, lifting her head and peering through her tousled-though-still-amazingly-in-place bedhead to watch Jane lean over the side of the bassinet. She watched in quiet, rapt attention (well, as rapt as she could be at three in the morning) as Jane's sinewy, tanned arms moved in the dark; the shadowed lines of her arms and her profile and her shoulders beautifully sharp in the dim lighting as she lifted Wyatt from the bassinet.

Everything about Jane screamed 'hard-ass'; from the muscles roping her body to the dark, Italian features and her trademark gravelly husk – it screamed power and strength and demanded obedience from even the seediest of criminals. Every fiber of her being radiated an aura of control and authority; even fear and dislike in some cases to certain people. But never had Maura ever felt anything but safety and comfort around Jane.

With Jane around, Maura knew she was safe – from vile humans to spiders and unexpected visits from her mother. Maura always knew that Jane would keep her safe. Even as she was held at knife-point by that…fiend, all Maura could think of was _Jane; Jane running to her rescue, gun drawn – Jane beating Dennis into a bloody pulp…_

_Jane holding her in her strong arms, the warmth of her wrapped tight around Maura; protective, possessive._

But now, in the quiet moonlight and dark space of her bedroom, Maura was watching Jane cradle Wyatt so gently; the baby whom she'd resented until the moment she'd found him at their doorstep. This was the side of Jane Rizzoli that not many knew existed.

This was the side only Maura had ever seen.

For whatever reason – which Maura would later on rationalize as her still-shocked system reacting to nearly being killed again -, there was an odd warmth that spread across her body at her thought of Jane. It was stronger than usual; more profound than the friendly affection she usually felt for the tall, lanky woman. No, this was no longer merely friendly affections she was feeling – but could she really define these feelings yet?

Maura shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her mind as Jane finally soothed Wyatt into a snuffling whine. She slid out of bed, despite Jane's protests of having things under control. Jane always had things under control, but Maura liked to know that she was helping either way.

"I'll get his bottle," she told Jane quietly, smiling warmly at the woman when Jane huffed at her. Maura reached out for Jane's arm, squeezing the limb in her hand gently, and their eyes met in the darkness. "Settle down with him; I won't be long."

Jane watched, quite speechless and somewhat dumbfounded with sleep (or was it perhaps lust and infatuation) as Maura spun on her heels and disappeared down the hall. "M'kay," she mumbled, to no one in particular before slumping back down onto the bed with a hefty thump.

_Whipped, Jane Rizzoli. You are completely, utterly, astoundingly whipped._

_But damn if feeling whipped don't feel good though._


	4. the first morning

The next morning found Jane and Maura awake in different parts of the house, and Wyatt curled in his car-seat, rocking blissfully on the kitchen floor. Maura had awoken to a nightmare not long after falling back asleep with Jane, and the detective had wrapped her arms protectively around Maura until the ME found sleep once again. Nestled inside Jane's strong arms, Maura had found her inner peace rather easily…and had apparently fallen rather deeply into her slumber.

When she woke next, it was to a cold and empty bed; nothing but the Jane-shaped indentation in her mattress and an empty bassinet that had her heart leaping into her throat for a bare moment. Maura exhaled heavily as she threw the covers back and rounded the bed, eyes bright and alert as she stepped down the hallway, calling quietly to her best friend.

Maura found her leaning against the kitchen counter, face nearly falling out of her palm as she held it there as she slept. Safe and warm and quiet, Wyatt lay gurgling quietly in his car-seat by Jane's feet. A soft, amused smile spread across Maura's sleepy face – it was obvious that Wyatt had gotten up somewhere in the middle of the night again. She could only assume that Jane had gotten up with the baby yet again to avoid waking her.

Carefully she stepped up to the slumped woman, whispering Jane's name in a lulling croon. "Jane…."

The woman swayed precariously on her palm and elbow, but remained seemingly deep in the grip of her slumber. She was teetering in her seat by the counter, her toes almost lifting from the ground, and Maura knew she had to wake the brunette before Jane ended up planting her face into the marble and wood countertop at a fast enough velocity to break her nose again.

But Jane seemed to have other plans.

No sooner did Maura take her step towards the half-conscious woman, Jane's head snapped up, and her eyes drowsily forced themselves open as she straightened on unsteady terms. Maura watched, wide-eyed and alarmed as Jane snorted once, cleared her throat, and seemed to regain her bearings when the detective finally turned her eyes on the blonde. Her dark eyes flashed; surprise, recognition, and perhaps something affectionate there as she groaned huskily under her breath and ran a hand through her mess of curls.

"Morning," she greeted the blonde, smiling somewhat sheepishly before stifling a yawn in her hand. It had been a long night of waking, feeding and coaxing Wyatt back to sleep – and then let's not forget changing that diaper of his.

Suddenly Jane had a profound growth of respect for her mother. There was _no _way she was doing that three times over!

"You could've woken me," Maura replied instead, shaking her head indulgently as she moved around the counter to start the coffee they both needed badly. It was very clear on Jane's face that she was a minute away from collapsing out of sheer exhaustion. She grabbed Jane's arm, stroking soothingly as Jane leaned into her touch wearily, and Maura offered her a sympathetic if chiding smile. "Next time wake me. We're here to take turns, Jane. It won't do for you to take all of Wyatt's responsibilities on yourself."

Jane waved her aside, reaching for the freshly brewed coffee and pouring them a much-needed mug each. "You were tired, so I let you sleep," she told the blonde simply, fingers brushing as she slipped the mug into Maura's hand, lips twitching into a lazy, crooked smile as Maura raised an eyebrow at her. As tired as Jane was too; she couldn't bring herself to waking the ME – she looked so peaceful and beautiful in the big bed, curled like a cat into her sheets and pillow.

After the day Maura had been through; Jane figured she could afford to sleep in a few more hours.

Maura shook her head indulgently at Jane before walking over to the gurgling infant, smiling widely and she bent down to scoop him up from his seat. "Good morning, Wyatt," she cooed, rocking the boy in her arms and kissing him gently on the forehead. "Did you have a nice night?"

"Pretty sure he's one of the only one who did," Jane chortled, and then shrugged innocently when Maura cast a look her way. The rush of heat to her stomach and face was ignored as she rounded the counter, clearing her throat quietly as she moved in closer to where the blonde was rocking the baby and babbling coos at him. "So what now, Maur?" she asked, leaning back against the counter as she supported her weight on her elbows.

Maura raised her eyes to Jane, unable to resist tracking the lean lines of the detective's long body; it was very hard not to – leaning in such an angle against her marble counter, Jane seemed more suitable to be the muse of an artist than a surly Boston detective. Turning to the woman fully, Maura shifted Wyatt over her shoulder and bit her lip in thought. "We don't have much for him," she confessed, patting the baby's back gently as Jane watched her with more warmth than usual. "He's going to need more diapers and more formula, and he'll certainly need more clothes as he grows. Newborn infants grow at least an inch every month until they reach six months of age, and are supposed to gain five to seven ounces a week. He'll double in size by the time he's six months old," she explained absentmindedly, much too busy coddling the baby to notice Jane's perplexed expression.

"So Junior here's going to be fillin' out those diapers and guzzling down baby formula until he gets fat enough to want more?" The look on the Italian woman's face was hardly one of joy or excitement. "I'm not changing his diapers when he starts munching on solids!"

"_I'll do it."_

The husky voice startled them both, and Jane and Maura whirled to the woman in the kitchen doorway. Jane's shoulders relaxed and a mildly irritable sigh escaped her lips as she glared at the older woman. "Ma," she chided. "You could learn to knock, you know."

"I live here, I don't have to knock," Angela replied smoothly, and strode over to where they stood, plucking the baby out of Maura's arms with the practice of a mother (or perhaps grandmother). "Come here, little man," she cooed, snuggling the baby close to her bosom and planting a kiss on the baby's forehead. "Ain't you a handsome little fella, yes you are."

"A handsome fella that poops like a champ," Jane muttered, wincing after when a sharp slap from Maura's hand reproached her.

Maura perked up suddenly, grasping Jane's thin arm in her hand as she stepped up beside the woman and faced Angela with a wonderful proposition. "We could go to the grocery store this morning and get the necessities for Wyatt if you wouldn't mind watching him," she suggested brightly, dimples showing clear on her glowing face as both Jane and Angela lifted matching looks at her. "Unless of course, you prefer to bring him with us."

Jane cast a look at her mother, brows raising and then pinching slightly when she saw the hesitant look on Angela's face. "You don't have to if you don't want to, Ma," she reminded the woman gently, husky and low and soothing as Angela fingered the edge of Wyatt's blanket.

"I know that," Angela insisted, but still her face told them that something bothered her. "It's just that Stanley's making me work today, and you know what Stanley's like…." She glanced helplessly at the two women before reluctantly passing Wyatt back to Maura. "I'm sorry, you two, but I can't today," she lamented, and gave the baby one last parting stroke on his little downy head.

"Have a good time at the store," she called to them, as she grabbed her coat from the hook at the door and left them staring in her wake. As Angela walked down the driveway and shrugged on her coat, the woman couldn't help but feel like the outing would do good for the pair – Lord knows that they needed the time alone to get things settled after that sculptor fella tried to get his grubby hands on Maura.

Janie never liked to share her things.

The taller woman watched her mother go, eyes dark and sad as she turned back to Maura with a fierce frown. "Stanley's workin' her to the ground, Maura," she growled, and her dark eyes were dangerously black. "Working on a Saturday? I could just -."

"She needs something to do," Maura reminded her calmly, and Wyatt gurgled at the sound of their voices. "You know what your mother is like when she's idle. We'll just put Wyatt in the baby Bjorn and keep him facing into our chests while we shop," she said simply, and then Jane eyed her wide smile and bright eyes suspiciously.

Jane groaned in defeat, shoulders slumping as Maura's eyes glittered in a way that officially told her that she was going to be the one donning this stupid Bjorn thing.


	5. escapades in grocery procurement

Most days. Jane was in control of most everything. She commanded the crime scene, the people of her station; she dictated the who, when, what, and how of the Homicide branch of the BPD…and if she was brave enough, she could say that she dictated most things that she and Maura did too.

Okay, _some _things.

Certain things.

Alright, _fine. _

Things Maura let her dictate.

At the current moment though, and once again – unsurprisingly – Jane Rizzoli was W-H-I-P-P-E-D by the gorgeous honey blonde Chief Medical Examiner.

There was a baby strapped to her chest. Attached to some sort of…spider contraption with way too many buckles and straps, Wyatt was nestled blissfully into Jane's chest; snuggled under the woman's sweater jacket and fast asleep as the brunette sulked and fussed at the triumphantly beaming ME. He was almost invisible in Jane's coat – only the very top of his little beanie could be see, and half of his face.

Almost invisible, but it was very obvious that the bundle on her chest was a baby sleeping.

She let Maura take them to a fancy, upscale grocery store in her neighborhood; the store with patrons who either wear pearl necklaces or are employed by pearl-wearing wives. It hadn't necessarily made Jane very comfortable, being around those kinds of people so early in the morning, but Maura wanted what Maura wanted.

They were quite a pair, her and Maura; the gorgeous honey blonde prettily dressed in a designer pair of jeans and a figure-hugging sweater, and the tall and awkward brunette in years-old jeans and a tank top underneath her browbeaten leather jacket.

Oh, and a baby strapped to her chest.

"Maura," Jane groaned, as she trailed the ME like a begrudging but loyal hound, pushing the cart with one hand and the other bouncing Wyatt gently to keep him asleep. The blonde seemed perfectly at ease though; skimming the shelves and perusing the list she held in one perfectly manicured hand, dropping a box or two of baby formula into the cart. "These things look like they cost more than my mortgage. You ever heard of Stop n' Shop?" she grumbled, and pulled the cart to a stop when Maura stopped to glare at her over her shoulder.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I have, Jane," Maura replied primly, throwing her blonde curls back as she turned back towards the shelf of baby bottles and searched for one she thought appealing and suitable. "But I would rather not buy necessities from a place we once picked a body up from. Wyatt deserves the absolute best." The woman spun back to Jane on her designer heels, a brilliant smile on her face as she held in her hands a bottle pack like she was some sort of bottle model.

"What do you think? Cobalt blue or jade green?"

"I think Wyatt doesn't care," Jane mocked her, smilingly making a face at Maura when the ME scowled at her. "Seriously, Maura, look at him." She bounced Wyatt slightly, who sat there on her chest like a rock. "The little man doesn't care what color baby bottle we get him – he just wants a boob in his mouth."

Maura huffed, placing both shades into the cart as Jane groaned under her breath yet again. "Well, unless either of us spontaneously lactates from the increased hormone exposure, Wyatt will have to settle with formula," she quipped plainly, and spun back to peruse the varying shelves of infant formulas.

Jane blinked hard, eyes growing wide as she processed what exactly Maura had just revealed to her. "We're going to start _lactating_?!"

Her voice carried loud enough for people to stop and stare, and Maura hurried spun to the gaping detective and hushed the woman gently. Jane was having none of it though – she was going to start making milk out of her boobs?!

"Maura, I'm not a dairy cow!" she cried, and looked down in a panic to her chest where Wyatt slept pressed to her chest – was she lactating already?!

The ME reached out to grip her arm soothingly, forcing Jane's wide, panicked eyes to meet hers as Maura shook her head slowly. "It's only a slight possibility," she assured the brunette, stroking Jane's tense arm reassuringly as Jane darted a look from Wyatt to her breast and then back over to the blonde's face. "It's just a theory, Jane. It's not a guarantee. Cases of an adoptive mother lactating are very rare, and that's with medical assistance too."

The brunette stared at Maura for a long, panicked moment until the fear in her eyes dwindled and the blonde's soothing smile willed away the last of the tension in her body. It was something she both hated and admired – Maura's ability to calm or rile her up with just a _look_. It was not natural for a woman to have such control over Jane Rizzoli. "Okay," she gusted finally, nodding her head as she seemed to roll her shoulders and shake off the feeling. "Okay, cool. We're good. We're – we're fine." She swept a hand through the air, cutting off the worry at the waist as she fixed a firm look at Maura just to be sure.

"You're sure, right? You're absolutely sure there's no possibility of either of us lactating at random?"

Maura nodded calmly. "Yes, Jane, I'm sure," she replied evenly.

Jane let out a relieved breath, letting her hand rest on Wyatt's back as she gave Maura a weak, sheepish smile. "Okay."

_Because Lord help me if one day __**you**__ start lactating, Maura. It's hard enough already not to stare at your cleavage every time I'm near you._

* * *

Jane survived at least another half hour trailing after Maura through the store, only ever groaning or whining when Maura put something _way _too expensive into the cart or when Wyatt would make a peep. "See, Maura? Even the little guy wants to get out of here," she'd said to the blonde, as she balanced a baby bottle of formula under her chin for Wyatt to eat while she texted Korsak with the other hand. While she'd never actually admit it out loud to anyone ever, (okay, maybe she would to Maura if she stared at her long enough) Jane was getting the hang of juggling a baby and her work life.

Just a little bit.

"Wyatt is simply hungry, and do _not _tilt the bottle at such a high angle!" Maura rushed over to Jane's side, gently lowering the bottle in her hand and holding it at what she deemed a more suitable angle for Wyatt to nurse on. "A newborn doesn't have proper neck strength to support his head upright or backwards properly. We need to ensure that Wyatt doesn't have his head leaning too far back or too forward. It could cause neck injuries," she told the detective, as she leaned over Jane's shoulder to watch Wyatt's face.

Jane nodded silently, too stunned to respond as she held Wyatt and watched Maura feed the baby. She wasn't in the mood to rib at Maura for talking Google at her; Wyatt's health and safety was their priority now. Her mouth twitched into a smile when she looked down into the boy's face and saw his little nose wrinkle and a dimple appear in his chubby cheek. "Hey, look at that – look at that, Maura. Is he smiling at us?"

Maura peered eagerly at the baby's face, smiling as she caught sight of the adorable baby's face. "He's probably reacting by reflex to nursing," she murmured, and then met Jane's eye with a smile as the taller woman rolled her eyes at her smilingly.

"_Well, aren't you two the most adorable things!"_

Jane blinked several times, turning to the new voice blankly. "Excuse me, what now?" she stuttered.

The older woman smiled at the pair, gesturing to the way Maura was leaning into Jane's side and the taller woman bending slightly at the knees to put herself at Maura's height. "Oh, the two of you must be so _pleased_ that our state is finally recognizing your love for one another." She moved forward, gesturing towards Wyatt slowly as she smiled kindly at the gaping pair. "May I look at him?"

She gasped and crooned in delight when a stunned Jane slowly lowered Wyatt at an angle for her to see, pressing her hands to her mouth and then reaching out gently to stroke his downy hair. "Oh, bless the little man; he's a handsome little fella, isn't he?" She gushed and crooned a little bit more, and then she turned her gaze to the still-bewildered pair. "Oh, he looks just like you, dearie," she told Jane, giving the woman a pat on the arm. "Boys usually take after their Papas anyhow. Well, my best to the both of you, good day!"

With a kindly smile to Maura and perhaps a cheeky wink, the older woman was gone in a whirl of Chanel No. 5.

Almost as soon as the woman was out of earshot, Jane whirled to Maura, sputtering. "See, Maura – I _told _you I would be the guy!"

Maura's eyes widened at the loud exclamation, grabbing Jane's arm and guiding her back to the cart as the detective finished feeding Wyatt and began to burp him. "Hush, Jane, people are staring," she chided the brunette as she pushed the cart now. The sooner they finished, the sooner they could go for lunch and Jane would stop whining about 'being the man' of the relationship.

…and Maura could stop thinking about Jane in such a context.

She smothered a shudder and grabbed diapers off the shelf. "She was simply making an assumption about our relationship – it's commonplace practice, Jane," she said evenly, placing the diapers neatly into the pile of baby things in the cart. "Compared to myself, you're just…a little bit more sporty, _and _she must've seen what you were wearing an assumed you were the male of the relationship," she pointed out, gesturing to Jane's battered leather jacket and jeans compared to her own, figure-hugging attire.

Jane let her eyes roam Maura's body for a quick moment before she gathered herself to roll her eyes at the woman, as she usually would. Well, usually she stared at Maura too, but she didn't stare at the ME like she wanted to get _under _her clothes and 'compare body types' real nice and personal with her.

Right?

"Sporty, sure," she snorted, and glanced off at her watch one more time, and then groaned. "Maura," she whined, just as Wyatt gave a loud belch. "We've been here an hour already – I'm starving and Wy's startin' to hurt my shoulders." She shifted uncomfortably as the carrier strap dug into her shoulders again, making a dramatic wince as Maura huffed at her.

"I suppose you did behave," Maura conceded, squeaking as Jane commandeered the cart, nudging the woman aside and pushing the cart towards the check-out. The blonde huffed again, arms akimbo as she watched Jane push the cart out of the aisle and then turn back to her impatiently. Shaking her head, Maura strode towards her, but her mouth curved into a smile at Jane's pleading look.

"If we have lunch at Sebastians, will you stop pouting at me?"

"Babe, if you get me _drive-through_, I'd sit through_ Don Giovanni _with you again."

* * *

They got to Sebastians and found their seats; people at Sebastians rarely ever took more than five minutes to seat _Dr. Isles_, and Jane made extra certain to rib at her best friend for that once they'd settled into their seats and the waiter left them with their menus. "They must be having a field day," she teased, burying her face into her menu. "Dr. Isles, here? On a _weekend_?" Jane glanced up with a grin and a dramatic wave of her hand to her forehead. "We gotta make sure we've got her favorites!"

"Be quiet, you," Maura huffed, though her cheeks flamed red. She turned her attention away from the grinning detective down to the baby gurgling on her chest. "Would you like me to take Wyatt from you?" she asked gently, frowning at the way Jane was wincing every time she moved. "Your back and shoulders must be aching."

Jane let out a puff of air, gingerly reaching into the carrier and lifting the baby. "Would you mind? He's kinda rubbing at me raw," she confessed, albeit begrudgingly, as she handed the baby to Maura. She sat back and unstrapped the carrier from her chest, rubbing at her skin in relief as she watched Maura cradle Wyatt. She smiled out of the corner of her mouth, indulgent and affectionate as Maura cooed at the baby and settled him neatly into the crook of her arm.

"Is he asleep?" she asked, her voice low and affectionately as Maura's hazel eyes met her dark ones and they shared a smile.

"Very nearly," Maura replied, and her eyes sparkled with amusement as Jane smothered a yawn. "And it seems like you are too."

Jane made a noise at the back of her throat, waving the woman away as Maura chuckled quietly. "I had a long night, remember? You did too." She glanced at Maura sharply, and the blonde nodded sagely as she too opened her menu.

"Very well then – let's finish up and see if we can't 'catch some REM cycles' after lunch."

"It's 'catch some zees', Maura. Catch some – oh what the hell. You wanna split the bruschetta?"


	6. living arrangements

By the time they'd finished lunch and returned home, Wyatt was fast asleep in his carrier, and Jane was just about another yawn away from collapsing on the ground she stood on. Maura pulled the last paper bag of groceries from the car and straightened to look at the sleepy detective, smiling fondly to herself at the way Jane's eyes drooped and swayed on her feet as she juggled Wyatt on her chest and a paper bag on her hip.

The Medical Examiner stepped around the car carefully, shutting the door with a nudge of her hip. "Sorry," she said after, when the door slamming jolted Jane from her haze. "That's the last of it."

"Cool," Jane mumbled, leaning over to take the paper bag from Maura. The blonde protested of course, but Jane had merely grunted at her in her sleepiness and shifted the two paper bags in her arms. "Get the door then," she said mildly, when she saw Maura glaring at her petulantly. Jane smirked at her crookedly as Maura huffily brushed past her, watching the pretty blonde go before fishing out the car keys and hitting the locks.

Obviously, she had driven.

"Jane," Maura chided the lanky woman, as Jane ambled up the driveway; nearly teetering off to one side from the weight of the bags she was carrying coupled with the weight of Wyatt on her chest. Maura's hazel grey eyes frowned at the detective as the woman came up to her, shaking her head and reaching for a paper bag. "You're going to hurt yourself or Wyatt if you keep on like this. You're half awake!" she insisted, sliding her hands between the gaps of Jane's lean arm, but the woman merely hugged the bag tighter to her.

The Boston detective rolled her eyes at the ME, grunting under her breath as she tugged the bag tighter to her and shifted Wyatt slightly to the side. "Hands off," she muttered sleepily, and through her half-lidded eyes managed a glare in Maura's direction as she brushed past the woman into the house. "It's bad enough that you paid for them – I swear the next time we make a grocery run like this, we're leaving your cards at home."

Maura huffed at her mildly, watching Jane's back disappear down the hall of her home. "You paid for lunch," she countered, the benevolent exasperation in her voice was more endearing than irritable. "It's the least I could've done." She shut the door behind her and secured the lock, trailing after Jane as the Italian woman began to deposit the bags of goods on the kitchen counter. She approached the counter and pulled one of the bags to her, removing its contents as she rolled her eyes at Jane still.

"You can't keep paying for everything, Jane. You'll be broke by time Wyatt is six months old!" She began to neatly align the necessities by use along the counter; baby formula in one neat pile, diapers in another, and the baby bottles last. Amidst the basic pile of necessities was the one thing Jane had to bed _Maura _to let her buy – a baby bib in the colors of Google, but said 'Googoo' instead. Of course, to reciprocate, Maura had purchased one with the most grotesquely frilled edges with 'mommy's little angel' on it.

Jane was not amused.

She scowled when she caught sight of the bib again, pulling Wyatt out of the carrier and gratefully unstrapping the contraption as Maura swept Wyatt into her arms and rocked him back to sleep. "Burn that thing," she told the blonde darkly, but only scowled deeper when Maura simply rolled her eyes at the detective over her shoulder.

As she opened her mouth to sass at the woman more, Jane found herself yawning like an overgrown cat instead; loud, unabashed, and unapologetic when Maura tsked at her about manners. Jane grunted at her, waving the woman away as she trudged over and slid Wyatt from her hold. "I'm taking a nap," she husked, and she stepped back to give Maura a lopsided smile as Wyatt settled into the crook of her elbow. "_We're _taking a nap, so you can go on with your organizing of the stuff but don't you dare think about redecorating the guest room yet." She wagged her finger at Maura firmly.

"We're doin' that _after _we figure out who Wy's Daddy is and _after _I'm unconscious for a good hour or two."

Huffing yet again, Maura rolled her eyes as she watched Jane continue trudging down the hall to the master bedroom, shaking her head with an indulgent smile as she heard the woman murmuring quietly to the baby about the Medical Examiner's OCD tendencies.

"_You think that's bad, you haven't heard about the time Maura got into my closet and organized the pantsuits by color and design…."_

* * *

It was two hours later when Maura came striding into the bedroom in a hurry; Wyatt's snuffling cries had gone unanswered after five minutes, and Maura had come to realize that Jane was down for the count. When she walked into her bedroom, she smiled to herself when she realized just how 'down' Jane really was.

The brunette was sprawled on her stomach, spread out across the bed with a pillow tucked under her chin; her arm nested underneath it for leverage. Quiet, low rumbles came from Jane's parted mouth, and so did a thin trail of drool that pooled on the skin of her arm and settled there. It was endeared Jane to Maura even more so than usual, and it also made the petite honey blonde a touch guilty at knowing she was the reason Jane was so sleep-deprived.

She sighed to herself as she moved around the bed to the bassinet, lifting Wyatt from his bed as he flailed his little fists about and snuffled thinly at her. Maura cooed at his tiny displeased moue, stroking a slender finger down his soft cheek as she hushed him gently. "It's okay, sweetheart, it's alright." She bounced him gently in her arms as she walked the room. "Do you want your bottle now? Or are you in need of a diaper change?"

Lifting the band of his diaper slightly, Maura deduced that little Wyatt Rizzoli-Isles was in fact, in need of a diaper change, and so she took the baby outside to the kitchen counter where Jane had left the changing mat. "Alrighty, mister; let's see what you've got for me under there," she drawled, laying Wyatt down and smiling at the gurgling baby's babbling. Unsnapping Wyatt's diaper, another at the ready, Maura lifted the flap…

…and was rewarded with a jet of yellow water.

"Wyatt!" she yelped, darting away from the stream of pee while simultaneously holding the diaper flap over the baby's lower area. Wyatt gave a sighing gurgle of relief as he peed, kicking his legs out excitably as Maura came back to glare at him benevolently. If he could smile or giggle, he would've at that moment.

Maura huffed at him, wagging her finger at the baby as she slid the diaper from underneath his bottom. "We won't be tolerating any more of that, young man," she chided him, wiping gently with a wet wipe and sliding a new diaper under him smoothly. "Urinating on people is highly frowned upon."

Wyatt's response was to blow her a spit bubble.

The ME chuckled and lifted Wyatt back into her arms, smiling with satisfaction at her handiwork before wrapping Wyatt back into the baby blue swaddling cloth. Wyatt yawned, snuggling into her warm chest, where he curled his tiny fist into the collar of her shirt and began to root hungrily for a meal. It was several hours since he was fed – the boy was hungry!

"Oh." Flushing slightly, Maura grabbed the bottle of formula from the fridge and moved to the kitchen sink. "We'll have your lunch ready in a second, sweetheart. Just let me heat this up for you." She slid a bowl under the hot water tap, filling the bowl to a decent level before placing the bottle inside it. As it heated, Maura bounced Wyatt gently, humming a tune absentmindedly at the baby while her brain drifted off idly to thoughts and considerations.

There were things she needed to discuss with Jane; firstly, they needed to conduct a DNA test on Wyatt to compare to the Rizzoli family tree. Secondly, they needed to discuss living arrangements with Wyatt – would they have to alternate weeks wherein Wyatt would stay with her for two weeks of the month and then with Jane for the other two?

Would they alternate weeks?

Wyatt gave another demanding whine, and Maura jolted back to her responsibilities in the current time – namely feeding him. "Sorry," she murmured sheepishly, but Wyatt didn't care much for apologies; he just wanted milk. She grabbed the bottle out of the bowl, testing its warmth in her hand as she grabbed a towel from the pile she'd made on the counter and draping it neatly under his chin. Impatiently Wyatt's mouth began to root, and laughing, Maura guided the nipple into his eager mouth.

"Well, at least now we know you really _are _a Rizzoli," she quipped teasingly. "Impatience is a hereditary behavior."

"_I resent that remark."_

Whirling with a gasp, Maura found herself face-to-face with a drowsy-eyed Jane; the detective was smirking at her crookedly as she reached out and grasped Maura's elbow to prevent the woman from reeling back to far. "Rizzolis aren't impatient; they're dedicated," she retorted, glancing down to where Wyatt was suckling away greedily. "Hey, hey, hey, Junior – slow it down before you choke yourself." She reached down for the bottle, curling her hand over Maura's as she pulled the nipple out of Wyatt's mouth briefly until the baby settled.

"That's a boy," she murmured soothingly, sliding the nipple back into Wyatt's mouth as the baby began to suckle again, slower now. A dimple appeared on her tan cheek as Jane smiled down at the baby, glancing up at Maura. "Guess you were right about him doublin' his size in six months, huh."

"Well, I wasn't guessing, Jane, I was making a statement," Maura told her, and together they finished feeding Wyatt and put the baby back into his bassinet for his mid-afternoon nap. Tucking the little sleeping infant back under his swaddling cloth, Maura placed a loving kiss on his forehead before straightening with Jane to admire Wyatt for a moment. They stood together; Jane's arm wrapped loosely around her waist and pulling her back against her lean figure as they watched the baby sleep for just a moment longer.

"He's kinda cute, ain't he?" Jane murmured lowly, her voice a delicious timbre resonating through her chest and vibrating into Maura's back. It sent an involuntary shiver up Maura's spine, and the woman couldn't help but lean a little bit deeper into her best friend.

She hummed at Jane, cheeks flushed mildly. "He is," she agreed, and then turned slightly to meet Jane's eye. "I thought we might want to talk about living arrangements."

Jane pulled back slightly, brows furrowed as she frowned out of the corner of her mouth at the ME. Her mind was foggy somewhat, but she was a quick one on her feet, and Jane felt the cogs whirling in her head as she blinked at Maura. "Why?" she asked warily, eyeing the way Maura shrugged at her innocently. "What kind of living arrangements?"

"Well," Maura began, gesturing between them. "I was thinking perhaps it's best if you came to live with me for a little while – at least until Wyatt is settled."

Jane's forehead furrowed harder, and Maura began her well-prepared argument. "Staying here would make it easier for you to spend time with Wyatt, plus you and I go to work together anyway – it would be more cost-effective for us to just start leaving from one destination. It would completely cut out the need for us to drop Wyatt back and forth between your apartment and my house; we do need to avoid displacing Wyatt at such a young age.

And it would be easier for us to take turns with his feeding and changing schedule." Maura turned to Jane with a confident nod, beaming at her own logic.

"But Ma's here 24/7; she can help when I'm not around," Jane sputtered insistently. As tempting as the idea of living in with Maura was, Jane didn't think she could live with the idea of giving up her apartment and having to spend nights in the same bed as Maura. Maura was a cuddler, (and maybe Jane was a little bit of one herself, but y'know…that was irrelevant) and sometimes Jane found it painfully, _painfully_ hard to keep her hands off her best friend. Though she had to admit – Maura had very relevant points behind her reasoning.

"I can't stay with you, Maur," she said plainly, impulsively. "God, I don't think I'd be able to survive it." And then Jane rolled her lips inwards and bit down hard when she realized what she'd just said.

Damn it.

Maura was making that face at her again. The 'my-amygdala-and-my-lacrymal-glands-have-a-connection-I-can't-control' face; complete with quivering lower lip and watery hazel grey eyes.

"I didn't know you found me so repulsive to be around," she uttered stiffly, though she sniffled and pouted petulantly at Jane. "I'm sorry I made the offer then."

"Aw, babe, that's not what I meant!" Jane grasped Maura's arm and pulled her back to face her, squeezing the ME's hands tight in hers as she stared into Maura's watery eyes apologetically. Her own dark eyes implored Maura to forgive her; that she was a great big giant asshole who didn't think about how anyone else felt and that she was so sorry she would get on her knees for Maura. "I – I – I didn't mean it like that – I just – I'll do it, okay?"

She squeezed Maura's hands in hers, smiling weakly in defeat. "I'll do it," she repeated, slower then, clearer. "I just didn't want you to have to handle me _and _Ma bein' around you all the time!"

Maura huffed, pulling her hands away from Jane's. "If I didn't _want _you around, Jane, I wouldn't have offered it," she told the detective flatly, shrugging. "Besides, you and I spend almost 20 hours a day with each other as is – there'll be no difference if you and I share a bed." Briefly Maura found her mind drifting very inappropriately to Jane and her doing more than just sharing her bed.

She flushed pink, clearing her throat awkwardly. "You wouldn't want to be a part-time Dad, would you?"

Jane blinked, abruptly pulled from her wonderful daydream of morning cuddles and nighttime fun times in bed with Maura. "Part-time – _WHY AM I THE DAD?_" she sputtered indignantly.

"Because -."

"Because you think I'm butch?" she challenged Maura, and she held the woman's gaze for a long, stubborn moment before Maura rolled her eyes at her benevolently.

"_Because_, Jane," Maura said, exasperated. Really; you make a lesbian dating profile on a job ONE time! "I can't teach him how to steal base, pitch, or swing a bat." She smirked softly at Jane, poking a finger at Jane's toned stomach smugly. "_You_ can, and that's what a father does."

Shoulders slumping in defeat, Jane glared at Maura darkly for a long moment, smacking Maura's finger away from her stomach as she flailed her hands about in frustration. "Alright, alright, fine!" she huffed, setting her hands akimbo on her hips as she fixed Maura with a dirty look. "We'll try it out for a month, and we'll see how it goes. But -." She held up a finger and glared at Maura sternly when the pretty blonde broke into a brilliant grin.

"He is _not _calling me Daddy."


	7. visits to the bpd

As Jane and Maura walked into the BPD the following Monday, Korsak and Frost couldn't help but notice that there were several things different about the dynamic duo. One, they both looked worse for wear; Korsak could've sworn he saw the corner of the usually perfectly put-together ME's blouse untucked from her high-waisted skirt. Jane, for the most part, was usually rather dashing in her pantsuits – now the detective looked like she'd taken a tumble somewhere and dragged herself back up.

Oh, and she was carrying a baby carrier on her arm. With a baby tucked safely inside.

Two, the pair were hissing at each other like cats on steroids.

"I told you we should've woken up earlier!" they heard Maura huff, and Korsak and Frost shared a bewildered look when Maura bent down every so often to tuck the corner of the baby's blanket back into the car seat. "You know you take forever in the shower!"

Jane sputtered indignantly, turning to the blonde as she shifted the car seat from one arm to the other, using her free hand to gesture at Maura in an accusingly flail. "Well _I _wasn't the one who let Bass soak in the tub in the guest bathroom!" she replied, glaring at the woman stubbornly. Her dark mane of curls was tousled and most likely tangled at the bottom, and from where Frost stood, seemed slightly damp still from her shower. "And _I _am not the one who takes a whole thirty minutes figuring out what to wear for the day _and then _doll up nice and pretty!"

Maura scoffed. "You've never complained before -."

"Yes I have," the Italian woman countered smugly, and then slapped Maura's hands away defensively when she came to tuck the un-ironed edges of her silk maroon dress shirt back into her slacks. "Get off me, Maura, you'll wake Wy!" She wriggled away from Maura's insistent grasp, holding the carrier seat closer to her protectively as the baby inside gurgled and fussed at the jostling.

"You're doing a fine job of that yourself," Maura retorted, rolling her eyes, and then suddenly it struck both her and Jane at the same time – they were being watched. Slowly they turned simultaneously, facing Korsak and Frost with matching wide-eyed looks as the men tried hard to hide their chortles behind their hands.

Jane's eyes narrowed at them dangerously. "Something funny to you?" she growled, and stood still long enough for Maura to sweep Wyatt out of his carrier just as the baby opened his mouth to let out a whiny cry. "Aw, great," she groused, gesturing to the baby as she glared at the two men. "Now look what you did."

"You're scaring him," Maura told her, rocking Wyatt soothingly in her arms as Jane huffed and puffed and glared at the sputtering men. She cooed at the baby, resting him against her chest as Wyatt whined and gurgled crankily, until he found himself pressed comfortably into his favorite spot – Maura's cleavage.

"There now," the blonde ME cooed again, smiling to herself when the baby settled contentedly against the bare skin of her chest. With her chiffon blouse cut low, the skin exposure was just enough for Wyatt to recognize the sweet scent of Maura's perfume and body cream; the baby gurgled as he fisted her blouse in one hand. "All better."

Korsak finally sobered up, and regarded the disheveled pair seriously. "What happened with the two of you? You look like crap." He gestured to the baby settled comfortably in Maura's arms curiously. "And where'd you get the kid? Did you find him out on the street or something?"

The lanky female detective scowled at him, lowering the empty carrier by her desk. She flexed her arms irritably; the car seat alone was a killer on her arms – Wyatt was a tiny baby but deadweight. "More like on our doorstep," she grumbled, peering over Maura's shoulder at the baby before turning back to the gaping pair. She sighed heavily, her hands slapping against her slacks loudly as she began her long and arduous explanation about Wyatt's presence in their lives.

"Basically," she said, at the end of it all, "Maura and I haven't slept all night _and _we ran out of coffee this morning." She turned to Maura with a dark glare then. "And _someone _got rid of my instant stash at her place." And then she smiled tightly at the two men – a smile that told them she was about a minute away from shooting them both where it counted. Just so they couldn't reproduce. "So you'll have to excuse me if I'm not in the best of moods today."

Frost darted a nervous look at Korsak. "Uh…I could…issue a warrant for Lydia…?" he offered, but Jane was already shaking her head at him. Evidently, she had thought of doing the same, whenever the baby was left at their doorstep. "Do you want us to do anything for you guys? Coffee or something?" he asked, taking in the dark bags under both women's eyes. "We don't have a case just yet, y'know. I'm sure if you talked to Cavanaugh, he'd give you the day off."

"He'd give you maternity leave, that's what," Korsak quipped, too busy trying to get a better look at the baby. "What's the little fella's name?" he asked, smiling down at the cute little face peeking out of the swaddling cloth. "Oh, he's definitely got the Rizzoli looks already, look at him!"

Beaming, Maura adjusted Wyatt's swaddling cloth and urged both Frost and Korsak closer, leaning slightly to show them the baby. "His name is Wyatt," she told them warmly, smiling down at Wyatt's adorable face, and then looking up at Jane. The smile stayed in place, and only grew warmer when her eyes met the brunette's. "Wyatt Alexander Rizzoli-Isles."

"We call him Wy for short," Jane chimed in, already grinning lopsidedly at the woman holding the baby and the men fawning over Wyatt. It wasn't like she could _stay _mad at Maura; Lord, help the woman when that day would come because the world would end first. She strode over to the group and reached down to stroke Wyatt's cheek with a slender finger, chuckling in her chest as the baby boy's tongue stuck out at her finger curiously.

The four were interrupted out of their fawning by the crunching of feet moving purposefully through the bullpen, and Jane stepped back to find Frankie moving towards them; in his hand he carried goods from the café. "Ma said you two were goin' at each other like how she and Pa used to when you got called to the headmaster's office," he told her, smirking as he handed his big sister the large to-go coffee. "She figured you might need these."

"Sweet Heaven on Earth," Jane moaned, caressing the cup in her hand before taking the first deliciously strong sip of her favorite blend. It burned her tongue, just a touch, but Jane was oblivious to anything but the rich aroma of black coffee.

Maura thanked him for them both, and gratefully passed Wyatt to him as she took the last coffee cup and the brown paper bag filled with what she knew to be breakfast from Angela. "Remind me to go down to the café at lunch to thank her." Inside the bag was a container of scrambled egg whites and toast, and bunny pancakes.

Jane groaned when she caught sight of the bunny pancakes. "Again with the bunnies," she whined, and Maura laid a soothing hand on her arm as Jane did a dramatic contortion of her body that the blonde constantly nagged at her about one day misaligning her spine.

"You can have my eggs," Maura told her, but Jane shook her head. There was no way she was taking Maura's eggs, though the offer was sweet, she supposed.

Frankie tapped his sister on her arm, regarding her seriously. "I found Tommy," he told her bluntly, and their dark eyes matched in the intensity of their displeasure at their little brother. Sometimes they wondered why he was like that; but then Angela had confirmed their suspicions about the youngest Rizzoli being dropped as a baby. "I've got him down in lock-up where I can't beat him to death."

"Wonderful," Jane growled. She waved Korsak and Frost away, gesturing for Frankie to pick up Wyatt's carrier. "Help us get him down to the lab, will ya? I've lugged him around all morning and my arms are wrecked." She stretched out her sore arms; the limbs throbbing in memory.

Maura huffed. "I offered to help."

"And I declined," Jane quipped wryly, sharing a look with Frankie as the ME huffed at her again. "Come on, Maura." She placed her hand on the small of Maura's back and guided her towards the elevator. "We need to find out who's Wyatt's Daddy so I can figure out which member of my family to disown."


	8. tommy boy

**I know it's been a while, and I'm so horribly sorry, but here is a filler chapter before we get real deep and gritty.**

* * *

When they got down to lockup, they found Tommy pacing the small cell, confused and irritably defiant as he saw his siblings appear through the grills. His bright eyes settled on his big sister, blazing incredulously at the taller woman. "Janie, what the hell!?" he cried indignantly. "I didn't do nothin'!"

He couldn't understand why he was there – Frankie had all but hauled him by the scruff of his neck and tossed him into the patrol car like scum. All through the drive to the station he'd demanded an explanation from his older brother, but Frankie had merely glowered at him through the rearview mirror. It was crazy – first they were pointing fingers at him for fooling around with Lydia, and now they were treating him like the everyday crook they booked!

Jane was by the iron bars in an instant, seething through the bars as she jabbed a finger at the man viciously. "The hell you didn't," she snarled, and the vitriol from a sleepless weekend gleamed in her near-black eyes. From her side, Maura watched silently; the blonde ME eyeing the woman with thin-lipped apprehension. "You dragged us all into this mess of yours – all because you couldn't wear a goddamn rubber when you found a pair of legs to get between!"

"You don't even know if it's mine!" Tommy sputtered defensively. "Damn, Janie, you're acting like I knocked her up on purpose!"

The female detective laughed; such a sudden, booming bark in her throat that Maura jumped from behind her. Jane's thin mouth curved into a sneer as she stepped closer to the cell, almost pressing her face through the bars as her dark eyes burned at Tommy. "Well you might as well have, Tommy, because that little bimbo of yours dumped her baby on our doorstep and disappeared into the night." She nodded her head, stepping back as the youngest Rizzoli sibling gaped at her in disbelief.

"That's right, little brother – and the reason you're standing back on the inside of this here cell is because I needed something to stop me from puttin' my hands on you."

The tension between the two rose dangerously; Tommy sputtering for an excuse and Jane waiting for a reason to kill her brother. Maura stepped forward carefully, grasping Jane's arm gently. She recoiled almost immediately though when the taller woman snatched her arm away, a menacing growl in her throat. "Jane, don't."

Maura inhaled deeply, grounding herself. She too had spent the weekend weary and mildly irritable from the lack of proper sleep, but they couldn't allow themselves to react solely to their own selfish emotions. So she stood straighter in her heels, and with a stubborn set in her jaw, found her place by the taller woman's elbow again. She reached out with a slender hand and slid it over the material of Jane's blazer, grasping her bony elbow in a gentle but lingering squeeze. Her hazel eyes were low and serious when Jane spared her a glance. "Jane."

The tone in her voice is low, suggestive in most other circumstances, but then was a warning that the Boston detective seemed to take to heart.

There was a beat; the silent tension was stifling as Jane found Maura's gaze and held it for a long, speaking moment. Maura's fingers shifted on her elbow, squeezing again, and this time Jane felt an electric line jolt straight to the bone. She breathed a heavy sigh; her shoulders sagged with a weary defeat as she scrubbed a hand roughly over her face. "I can't even bring myself to waste my energy on beating your stupid head into the ground," Jane mumbled, as she raised her head to meet Tommy's eyes once more. "I want to so badly, Tommy – oh, you bet I do. But this isn't about your stupid mistakes – this is about Wy and seein' if we can't figure out if you're his father." She turned her back on her brother, reaching out instead to Maura and squeezing the blonde's hand in a weary grasp.

"Wy?" Tommy echoed, and suddenly he was there pressed against the bars, gripping them tight in his hands as he strained out to his sister. "It's a boy? Where is he? I want to see him." He cowered when Jane whirled back to him with a cold glare. "Come on, Jane, he could be mine."

Maura stepped closer to Jane as the Italian woman scowled, though Jane's temper seemed in check. She could see the vein in Jane's forehead beginning to appear and the hard set of the woman's sharp jaw that the temper she was holding back was colossal. It was clear on the woman's face that she held a vicious retort on the tip of her tongue, but Maura's low look had her reconsidering.

"It's not worth it, Jane," she soothed. "You're upset and listless from the lack of rest this weekend. Getting mad at Tommy for this won't solve anything." She glanced behind them, where she knew Frankie was most likely spying on them from around the corner with Wyatt. "You'll frighten Wyatt." Her delicate fingers trailed along the taller woman's wrist, stroking the skin there gently until she saw the tight line of Jane's jaw relax, and the detective sighed heavily once more.

Jane's dark eyes moved around the room, 'casing the joint', as Maura had learned to recognize that look on her face. Her eyes moved from Tommy to her shoes before settling on Maura, where they lingered with such unspoken intensity that Maura had to smother the urge to glance down at Jane's mouth.

She failed.

"Damn it," she heard Jane grunt, and then the brunette turned to where Frankie stood just outside the lockup, watching anxiously from around the corner. Tempted as he had been to step in closer to hear them; Wyatt had fussed and wriggled and threatened to wake, and he thought against it. Jane glanced at him, hard and speaking, and Frankie stepped forward in a rush with the baby carrier.

"Holy shit," Tommy whispered, as Maura bent down to scoop Wyatt into her arms. His eyes were wide in a flabbergasted disbelief; as if he'd never seen a baby in his life. "That's – that's a baby!"

Jane nearly rolled her eyes at his idiocy, but instead propped her hands onto her hips and scuffed her boots against the floor as she watched Maura cradle Wyatt close. "Yes, Tommy, he's a baby. But we like to call him by his name." Unable to keep the affectionate smile twitching at the corner of her mouth, Jane smiled warmly at Maura and the baby.

The blonde ME smiled down lovingly at the baby, stroking an elegant finger along Wyatt's soft cheek as he gurgled and mouthed at her trailing fingertip. "His name is Wyatt."

"Wyatt Rizzoli, huh," Tommy breathed. "He's a handsome fella, like his Pop."

Jane narrowed her eyes at her brother, scowling from the corner of her mouth. "For all we know, Tommy, is that his Pop could be _our _Pops," she uttered darkly, and turned to Maura with a quiet frown. "Come here, little man." Gently, she took Wyatt from the confused ME, but Jane glanced down at her sharply and rolled her eyes towards Tommy. "Don't you have some DNA to collect, Maur?" she mumbled pointedly; bouncing Wyatt in her arms like it was second nature. Mostly it was – she'd spent all night doing the exact same thing, trying to keep Wyatt from waking Maura.

The ME nodded obediently, producing a long cotton swab from her ever-present medical coroner's bag. "Open up, please."

* * *

A long while later, after a painful discussion with Cavanaugh which had ended with Jane and Maura getting the rest of the week off to 'settle things', as the man said, Jane found herself downstairs in Maura's office. Lounging languidly on the pretty ME's leather couch, the Italian woman stretched out gratefully in the cramped space, just barely conscious as she held a sleeping Wyatt to her chest. Close physical contact was imperative for his development, Maura had told her, and insisted that the boy kept as much contact with them as possible.

Presently the boy was pressed to Jane's tan chest, where she'd unbuttoned the first two buttons of her shirt to allow Wyatt some 'skin time' as he slept.

The detective was jolted awake though by the sharp clacking of heels on the linoleum floor, followed quickly by the scent of vanilla musk. "Jane, please keep your boots off the leather," came Maura's exasperated melodic voice. "You know it scuffs the hide," she chided the darker woman, who lowered her feet begrudgingly, all the while grumbling under her breath.

Jane stifled a massive yawn as she sat up slightly, turning to regard the blonde ME as Maura approached them with a file in hand. Blinking her bleary eyes, Jane used her free hand to push her thick sprawl of dark hair from her face and peered into Maura's face expectantly. "What'd the tests say, Maur?" she asked then, as her eyes narrowed when she saw the hesitant look on Maura's pretty face. "What is it, babe? What?" She reached out to Maura as the blonde floated down gracefully into the seat across from her, frowning at the troubled look on Maura's face as she stared at the sleeping infant still clinging to Jane's chest.

"Maura, what's wrong?" she probed gently, and reached out to grasp Maura's wrist in her hand. With a reassuring squeeze and a lopsided smile, Jane caught her gaze and held it. "Tell me."

With the corner of her lip caught between her teeth, Maura found her gaze darting almost guiltily from Wyatt to Jane; she wasn't sure why she was feeling what she felt, but there were many things that Maura couldn't explain about her feelings at the moment. Namely about the woman seated across her with the baby attached to her chest like it was second nature.

"I don't want to know who's the father," she blurted then, and Jane could do nothing more than blink. Maura's hands curled into her lap tightly; the file sat perched neatly beneath her hands away from Jane. "I don't want to find out."

It took several moments and a lot of blinking for Jane to find her voice once more, and when she did, it was hoarse and low and incredulous. "Wha – Maura, we have to!" she exclaimed, shooting upright then with one arm cradling Wyatt close to keep the boy from waking at the jostle. "Maura, we need to know," she reminded the blonde gently, lowering her head to keep Maura's gaze gently. "Hey? You know we need to know." Her brow rose on her forehead with a hopeful, gentle smile that lit up her dark eyes only ever with Maura, and she stroked her thumb along Maura's wrist soothingly. "We can't protect Wy if we don't have proof of right to him." She stared down at the beautiful little boy gurgling in his sleep, and Maura watched enamored at how soft Jane's expression was then.

"We can't keep our little boy safe if we don't make sure he's a Rizzoli."

Still it troubled Maura. "But that's the point, isn't it?" she told the detective, staring at Jane desperately as she pulled the file from her lap. "If Wyatt _is _Tommy's, or your father's -," she spared Jane an apologetic look when the Italian woman winced, "then Lydia would still have rights over Wyatt even if she abandoned him. Technically by law, she simply left him with relatives."

Jane's brow pulled together. She knew this; she just never liked it being at the forefront of her thoughts. "She could come back at any given time and take him, no questions asked." That was the silent truth that Maura wouldn't speak, and when the blonde nodded slowly, Jane's mouth pulled into a grim line.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, Maura. Let's just focus on figuring if I need to castrate my dad or my little brother."

With a heavy sigh of defeat, Maura slowly opened the file, scanning over the results with a frown that never left her face. It flickered only a moment. "Oh…."

Jane was alert in a breath. "What is it, Maura?"

"Wyatt is…."

* * *

**We all know who father Wyatt by this point, honestly, I was just lazy.**


	9. anything you can do Jane can do better

**we're about to get reallll nice and intimate with them in the next chapter.**

**Meanwhile though Jane and Maura argue about Jane's male tendencies.**

* * *

"_Wyatt is Tommy's."_

Maura blinked, the file fell limply back into her lap. She stared at the woman sitting across her. "You knew?"

Jane smiled mirthlessly, reaching over calmly to slide the file shut and placing the folder onto the table away from them. "I needed to be sure," she told Maura, though the ME still seemed to doubt her explanation. Of course she would – Maura liked facts and figures to be sure. Sighing inwardly, Jane smiled crookedly at her, shifting Wyatt higher on her chest before gently pulling him away to show Maura the sleeping baby's face. "He looks like Tommy did when he was little," she explained, and Maura leaned forward intently to gaze into the handsome infant's face.

She hummed thoughtfully; what Jane said was true, and she'd noticed it herself as well – only for Maura, the thought ran more along the lines of Wyatt looking more like Jane than he did Tommy. The Rizzoli bloodline was undoubtedly dominant, and it was clear already in the barely week-old infant that he would inherit the familiar Rizzoli bone structure. The fine ridge of his brow, the Italian nose, and from what Maura knew from experience – the Rizzoli impatience.

The boy was a Rizzoli, one way or another.

"So what do we do now?" she asked quietly, peering at the brunette's face earnestly.

Jane blew out a breath, shoulders sagging visibly. Honestly if she was being honest with herself; all she wanted to do at that point was adopt Wyatt and strip Lydia of all her rights to the boy, but she knew deep down – in her moral conscience that sounded once more like Maura, Jane realized with a scowl – that she wouldn't be able to sleep easy knowing she had done something as heartless as that. They didn't know why Lydia had left Wyatt with them, and though Jane was pretty certain her theories were at least partially if not entirely true, Maura wouldn't let this one slip on just a gut instinct.

She sighed again, and cradled the baby closer to her chest while running one hand through her tangled mass of dark curls. "I guess we go see what Tommy's gonna do about it," she murmured lowly, and Maura could see that it troubled her to do so. While the youngest of the Rizzoli siblings wasn't entirely reliable on all accounts, Tommy was a good boy with a well-meaning head on his shoulders. But even so, even Maura was having doubts about what they were going to tell the bright-eyed black sheep of the family.

Shifting slightly, tugging on the hem of her pencil skirt, Maura tilted her head in consideration, her hazels eyes darting from Jane to Wyatt and back again. "Well…at least now we know for sure that Wyatt is ours," she said slowly, eyeing the woman carefully as Jane's mouth twitched. There was that strange fluttering again in her stomach as she watched Jane tuck Wyatt higher on her chest, allowing the baby to press his face into the bare skin of her chest and neck as he cooed and gurgled in his sleep. The heat was rising to her neck and cheeks, and it startled Maura.

Jane seemed none the wiser at the chief ME's sudden change in behavior. "I guess so," the detective mumbled thoughtfully, peering down at the sleeping baby's Cupid bow mouth. "Now we just gotta make sure the little man stays ours."

They had only just come to the agreement that they would leave early to settle Wyatt at Maura's home when Wyatt had woken and demanded feeding; something Jane had immediately plopped the baby into Maura's arms for. Maura merely glared at the lanky brunette as Jane dramatically began rolling her shoulders and massaging her arms, narrowing her eyes when Jane shot her a crooked smile, complete with lash fluttering. "You win the battle but not the war," she told the detective simply, tucking Wyatt's bib under his chin. "A well-fed baby results in a well-filled diaper."

She shot Jane a wicked grin. "I'll be too busy calling in my temporary and coordinating my schedules and autopsies with her." That wiped the smug look off Jane's face almost instantaneously, much to the blonde's delight. _Two can play at that game, Jane Rizzoli. _

Jane made a face, grumbling as she shuffled towards the door, pulling it open. "We should start potty training him," she mumbled, waving her hand impatiently through the air as she ushered Maura and the baby through the door, slinging the diaper bag over her shoulder and following behind them as they moved towards the elevator. "Shouldn't be too hard; Jo Friday picked it up in no time."

Maura rolled her eyes. "Jo Friday is a _dog_, Jane." She cast a sidelong look at the taller woman when Jane made a face at her. "Wyatt can barely support the weight of his own head, and you expect him to learn how to control his bowels?" She scoffed at the idea, though a part of her knew that Jane wasn't anywhere near being serious. Another part of her couldn't be too sure though – after all, Jane was the one who thought using car polish on Bass would get him to "shine bright…like a diamond."

He _still _smelt like lemons!

The Italian woman's shoulder rose an inch. "Can't hurt startin' 'em young."

* * *

"_You put bar A into bar B, Jane._"

"That's what I'm doing!"

"_That's bar D."_

"…oh."

Maura smiled down gently at the woman, indulgent affection gleaming in her expressive hazel eyes. "It's not rocket science, Jane; just read the manual," she laughed quietly, swaying gently as she cradled Wyatt against her chest. She was standing by the doorway of her guest bedroom, now deemed the temporary nursery of sorts, watching Jane as she sat cross-legged amidst a sea of bars, bolts and screws – all the while blatantly ignoring the white and pristine manual by her foot.

Apparently putting together a crib was "somethin' _babies_ could do with their eyes closed. Who needs a manual to stick part A into part B?"

Evidently, Jane did.

Said tall and gorgeous Italian glared at her from the floor, gesturing with the bar she was holding rather menacingly at the woman standing in the doorway. "You want to try, Dr. Smarty-pants?" When Maura merely raised an eyebrow at her, Jane huffed smugly, returning to her work. "Didn't think so." Grunting quietly, Jane yanked the misaligned pieces apart, and began to start from scratch. Honestly, it was as if they intentionally made things harder than they needed to be – couldn't they _label_ the damn pieces so life could be a little easier?

After another moment of watching Jane try (and fail) to assemble the crib, Maura sighed long-sufferingly as she lowered herself down beside Jane, shifting Wyatt from one arm to the other as she snatched the manual from Jane's side and began flipping through its pages. If she let Jane have her way, they wouldn't have the crib until the _next _weekend. Humming quietly to the baby, Maura skimmed the directions idly, glancing at the parts in front of her.

"You need to start with the base. Start with piece J and combine it with bar H and screws Y and I." She gestured with the book, pointing gracefully at the pieces Jane needed.

The woman wrinkled her nose in confusion. "Screw Y? Don't they know the alphabet? H, I, J, Y?!"

"I don't make the directions, Jane, I simply recite them," Maura told her calmly, shifting closer to the woman and tucking her legs to the side as she watched Jane reach over the pile. Her pencil skirt made things a little difficult comfort wise, but otherwise the woman was comfortably seated by Jane's side – eyeing the tanned woman's back and shoulders appreciatively as the movement brought the muscles to a shift of ripples. Dress shirt gone and tank top ever in place, Jane's golden brown shoulders were bare and in perfect viewing position for Maura. She was only spared a moment of ogling, as Wyatt gave a sudden demanding whine and began flailing in her arms.

Maura crooned at the baby soothingly, pulling the boy close and rocking him gently in her arms as Jane glanced at them curiously. "He's probably due for another feeding," she told the brunette, and excused herself to the kitchen to prepare Wyatt's next bottle. It was a while before she returned to the nursery, and Maura paused in surprise in the doorway once more, staring at the perfectly put together crib in the corner of the room. "Oh Jane…."

Jane grinned at her crookedly, pride radiating off her as she stood arms akimbo beside it. "And I didn't even need the manual," she announced smugly, and Maura saw the booklet abandoned somewhere at the far corner of the room. No doubt that Jane had flung the thing aside in disgust after she had left the room. The detective gestured to the new mattress and freshly laundered sheets inside the crib, the one covered in little baby blue cars (that she suspected Ma had been the one to pick) and then at the sleeping baby in Maura's arms.

"C'mere – put the little man in there." She perked up then, wordlessly disappearing down the hall to their bedroom as Maura gently lowered the baby into the crib. Jane reappeared a brief moment later, armed with Wyatt's blanket and pillow, and leaned over the crib railings to place the things where they should be. "Alright, little man," she uttered lowly, easing the pillow underneath Wyatt's head. "Let's see what you think about your new bed."

Stepping back with a triumphant huff, Jane planted her hands back onto her hips as she stepped in beside Maura, watching with pride as Wyatt slept on peacefully in his new crib. She glanced down at the blonde beside her with a smug smirk, mouth curving crookedly at Maura as she leaned down to rest her head on Jane's bony shoulder. "Told you I didn't need no manual," she mumbled, grinning openly when Maura rolled her eyes at her.

The blonde swallowed a sigh, but straightened with a huff. "You certainly would've finished a lot sooner if you'd have read it," she murmured wryly, spinning on her heel to leave the boy in peace. "That's certainly very _male _of you, Jane – men don't like reading manuals, or asking for directions -."

"Hey, I'm not _male_!" Jane exclaimed defensively, trailing after the blonde after pulling the nursery door shut – not all the way though. They still hadn't gotten batteries for the baby monitor. She glared at Maura's retreating back, following her into the kitchen as she began to make them lunch. "I just don't see why I gotta have some GPS lady tell me where to go if I already know where I'm going!" She leaned onto the island counter, dropping her chin into her palm as she watched Maura pull out the necessities she needed for salad and perhaps a light meaty dish. Jane was nothing if not a hardcore meat lover. The only way she could get Jane to eat her salad and not whine about it was if it led to meat.

Maura rolled her eyes down at the rocket she was sprinkling into two bowls. "You're certainly not helping your case," she murmured, though it was low enough to be out of earshot from the brunette. Huffing indulgently, she turned to Jane, smiling calmly at the detective as she slid the bowls onto the counter. "Really, Jane – it's not emasculating to need directions." She pulled the fridge door open, bending down at the hip to rummage through her coolers for the spinach and pine nuts. "Sometimes you just need to accept that you can't do _everything _and learn."

Reluctantly Jane dragged her eyes away from the spectacular sight before her, huffing petulantly amidst the growing heat in her cheeks as Maura turned back around, raising an eyebrow at her as she brandished the necessary greens for their salads. "I can too do everything," she countered snidely, wrinkling her nose at Maura when the ME rolled her eyes openly; snatching a leaflet of spinach out of Maura's bowl and stuffing the thing into her mouth.

"'m mean -." She crunched down into the green thoughtfully, making a face at the taste of it as she forced it down her throat. She smothered a gag, flinching as Maura slapped her across the arm with an exasperated sigh, waving the woman's attacks away as she moved around the counter and searched for something with protein to put into her mouth. "I can fix things, Maura, you know I can. I fixed that busted pipe in your bathroom last month, didn't I? All by myself too!"

She pulled open the fridge in emphasis, removing the leftover of their chicken from last night's dinner that Maura had shredded and kept aside for this purpose. Picking a piece or three between her fingers, Jane put them to her mouth, groaning under her breath at the flavor. "An' let's not f'get the time I put up your TV for you again after those goons came around and snatched it off your wall." The garbled speech elicited a mildly irritable look from the blonde, who folded her arms and glared at Jane until the woman surrendered the container of chicken to her.

"What? I'm hungry!" It was always her excuse – but then again, Jane was _always _hungry. Somehow she managed to restrain herself until Maura had finished dressing the salads and garnished them with the chicken before picking up her fork, murmuring her thanks to the ME before digging in with fervor.

Maura sighed, shaking her head slowly at the woman. "It amazes me to this day how your metabolism functions." Honestly she was envious of Jane's high metabolism; it allowed the tall brunette so much indulgence in all things unhealthy, though Maura couldn't find the strength to begrudge her for it – it was in her blood, after all. She was built like a predator, made of nothing but sinuous muscle and tanned skin; long and limber and delicious -.

The blonde blinked, hard. _What are you doing, Maura Dorothea Isles? You do not fantasize about your best friend's body – you do not observe your best friend's body like you do a piece of artwork!_

But Jane was a piece of art though – she was the most fascinating kind of art Maura reveled in. Such a complex, layered presentation of a human being that –

"Hey Maur, you listenin' to me at all?"

Heat rushed to her cheeks as Maura pulled away from her reverie, a wan, flustered smile pulling at her mouth when she saw the amused but gentle smile on Jane's face; the warmth in her dark eyes as she peered curiously up at the blonde's face. She tucked her hair behind an ear nervously, staring down at her salad instead of Jane's probing and perceptive eyes. "Sorry," she murmured, spearing a piece of chicken. "I – I must've been daydreaming about – about what color to paint the nursery." It was the first thought that occurred to her, and one that she needed to consider soon anyway.

Jane's brow pulled together in confusion. "What? Why can't it stay white?" she exclaimed. "It's not like Wy's gonna know the difference!"

Maura shook her head then, waving the thought aside. "We'll discuss it later. Now – what were you talking about, Jane?" she asked the woman instead, pulling the stool out and sliding onto it gracefully. She leaned onto the counter with her elbows, watching Jane as she began to repeat herself about their previous agreement – her temporary residence in the Isles brownstone.

"I mean -." Jane shrugged, waving her fork about. "I figured if I was gonna stay for a month, give or take, I might as well sublease it or somethin' – or at least figure if I can't get Ma to consider livin' there for a little bit. At least until we figure our living arrangements permanently."

The blonde tilted her head thoughtfully, swallowing her bite. "I thought the reason we wanted to test this arrangement was to establish a proper routine with Wyatt _and _your mother as well." She frowned, mind whirring hurriedly as she considered the factors. "I wouldn't think that she'd want to be away from Wyatt, now that we've confirmed that he's her grandson," she stated plainly. Truly it would seem like an unnecessary battle to convince Angela to be anywhere apart from Wyatt – she didn't enjoy the idea of basically kicking Angela out of her guest house, even if it was only for a month.

Jane grunted as she acknowledged this somewhat begrudgingly; Maura had a point. She huffed. "So what now, Maur? I mean – I don't wanna give up my apartment. It's my place, y'know? My – my space." She'd agreed to it almost on a whim – Maura was on the borderline of _tears_, for crying out loud! She couldn't stand to see Maura cry! But the problem was still the same though – it was only a month, but Jane didn't like the idea of keeping it empty for so long.

Maura hummed thoughtfully. "Well…." She pushed her salad around in its bowl, chewing on the corner of her lip uncertainly. "I suppose for now, we'll just have to ask Frankie or Frost to drop by once and a while to make sure everything's alright at your place. We could stop by once and a while too; you'd need to pick up mail and whatnot."

And that was all there was to it – for the moment. They didn't have the brain capacity to think of anything else other than eating and taking a nap at that point; whenever the baby slept, they slept too, as it went. Cavanaugh had given them the week off anyway.

"C'mon. Let's see if there's anything good on TV."

* * *

**Vote though - a quick fall into each other or a painfully long drawn out UST filled thing?**


	10. mother knows best

**I aim to take full advantage of my short summer and post the shit out of everything because I go back to a shitty semester in the Fall.**

**Pray for me, children. I have made a terrible mistake.**

**Meanwhile Angela Rizzoli wants more grandchildren made under legal terms i.e lawfully wedded spouses.**

* * *

Angela Rizzoli liked to think of herself as a very blessed woman. She may not have been the richest, or well-traveled, but she had a beautiful, happy, healthy family whom she loved as deeply as any mother did. She had a roof over her head, a job to make a living by, and a family she'd raised waiting for her at home. Now she may have also been a little…lapsed, let's say, with her practice in religion, but Angela believed in living life with good morals, a family, and somebody to love.

And if that person you loved happened to be someone of the same sex…so what?

Love was love, and it came in all shapes and colors and sizes.

It was this thought that occurred to the mother of three as she stepped into the kitchen from Maura's guesthouse, fussing with the bag of ciabatta rolls she'd saved for her only daughter. She'd bustled through the kitchen at first, making her way into the living room, when the sight that greeted her stopped her in her steps as good as concrete could.

Sleeping there, peacefully, comfortably, happily together on the good doctor's luxurious couch, were Jane and Maura. Pressed into each other with Maura tucked comfortably into Jane's side, the women were well into their slumber; Jane with one arm wrapped possessively around Maura's waist and the other sprawled over her eyes to keep the light from getting at her. Maura hummed contentedly in her sleep, pressed on her side into Jane's chest and resting her head there peacefully as she fisted the taller woman's tank top in her hand.

Her leg had found itself tucked between Jane's, and Jane had one leg bent up against the leg there with the other dangling off the edge of the couch – it didn't look anything near comfortable, but Angela couldn't remember another time when she'd seen either of the women look so at peace.

It frightened her.

Of course it did – she couldn't help but be frightened; she had no experience with such circumstances. Sure, Jane had always been a little more masculine than she'd liked, but it couldn't be helped – coming from a family of boys. No matter how hard she tried, Jane was adamant on hating everything feminine and girly. But Jane had her fair share of crushes in school though; Angela remembered times when the girl would painstakingly force herself into pretty dresses and make-up, just so she could get the boys to like her back. There had never been any outward expression of her preference to her gender, until Maura came along.

She and Maura had always been close; even if their friendship had begun on somewhat rocky terms, the blonde was good for Janie – she made Jane a better person, in Angela's opinion. She never asked for Jane to be anyone but herself, but Jane always tried hard to impress and do right by Maura. Even without asking for anything; Janie went that extra mile just to keep the good doctor happy.

And it wasn't one-sided either - Jane did the same for Maura too. When Angela first met the pretty doctor, she was all kinds of awkward and uncomfortable with being around people. She didn't have siblings and her parents were out of the country, the poor thing. She was all alone up in her big and beautiful house, except for her big tortoise fella. But with Jane around, Maura learned what it was like to have a family around that loved and cared for her. She was an honorary Rizzoli like she was always meant to be one.

They were good for each other.

And no matter how much she wished things were different, Angela realized then…why everything made so much more sense.

You can't help who you love.

_Well, _the woman thought as she made her way as discreetly as possible across the living room, smothering a giddy grin. _I sure hope you're not as blind as your Ma, Janie, because I'd hate to be the one to knock the sense into you if you ever let her go._

The next thought that came to her was that if Jane and Maura adopted Wyatt, he would legally be her grandson – the first of many, God willing. With all that fancy science things, they could definitely have more, couldn't they?

_Maybe this time I'll really get a doctor in the family!_

* * *

Something was tickling her nose.

Jane wrinkled her nose away from the source, groaning quietly in her sleep as she turned away from the little bristles brushing against her chin and mouth; curling her arm in closer and pulling Maura to her chest. Her mouth relaxed into a pleased smile as she felt Maura curl up into her chest and neck, humming in her throat as the familiar scent of vanilla musk and the core sweetness of Maura's own scent filled her senses. _Ah, this was the life…._

"Mm…Jane?"

She grunted lowly, cracking an eye open at the sleepy voice. Glancing down at her chest, Jane couldn't help the crooked smile on her face at the sight of Maura's adorably sleep-hazed face peering up at her. "Hey." The husky gravel of her voice wrought a shudder up Maura's spine, and Jane felt it ride along the curves of her spine beneath her hand. She smirked lazily at the blonde. "You cold, Maur?" she rumbled teasingly, pulling the woman even tighter to her body as Maura stared at her.

Maura felt her grip tighten on Jane's tank top as she stared up at the tanned woman's hooded eyes and lopsided grin. "Hard to be cold when I have a personal heater around me," she murmured then, and it took a moment for the woman to realize what she'd just said. True to her words, Maura's cheeks flamed hot, flaring a dim pink, to the brunette's delight and the blonde's horror.

Jane's eyes narrowed affectionately as she looked down at the woman in her arms, chuckling low in her throat as she shifted upright on the couch, taking Maura with her. With her arm still wrapped rather possessively around the ME's waist, Jane stretched out her free hand over her head, stretching out her limbs all the way down to her toes as she felt her body realign as necessary. Humming in content, Jane settled into a lazy smile, releasing the woman reluctantly as Maura pushed off her chest to sit up and began flexing her neck left and right to get the stiffness out of the limb.

"How long were we out?" Jane mumbled, stifling a yawn as she did, glancing over the back of the couch at the kitchen clock. As her eyes settled on the numbered face though, Angela appeared in the doorway, Wyatt in her arms and a blissful smile on her face.

"Good morning, sleeping beauties," she sang at them, smiling wider at Jane's scowl as she shifted Wyatt in her arms and moved around the kitchen counter. "I was wondering when you two would rise from the dead – I was just about to heat up dinner." Almost reluctantly she placed Wyatt into Maura's waiting arms, stepping back and watching with maternal pride as the blonde cooed and cuddled the baby to her. Turning to her daughter, Angela gave Jane a look that confused the woman. "Frankie and Tommy are coming over for dinner."

Jane's eyes went wide, panicked as she darted a glance at where Maura sat up straight at the mention of her youngest brother's name. "Uh, Ma, about Tommy…." She swallowed hard, eyes begging Maura for some sort of help or explanation to give her mother. Christ, with all that Frankie and Frank had done to screw up things, it was a miracle Angela hadn't in some way lost her mind – Jane certainly was.

"We tested a comparison of Wyatt and Tommy's DNA today," Maura supplied the older woman, tucking Wyatt closer to her as Angela stared at them. Exhaling nervously, her eyes sought Jane's – an instinct for reassurance. When she found it in the tense but adamant gaze of the detective, Maura inhaled sharply; bracing herself. "Wyatt is Tommy's."

There they sat; she and Jane on either sides of the couch, watching Angela with an apprehensive breath held between them. Jane watched her mother keenly, feeling her stomach coil in preparation for an eruption of noise and wails and demands of how her youngest son could be so foolish – _oh, how could he do this to me, Janie? How could he hurt me like this? What's gonna happen to Wyatt, Janie? How is he gonna be a father to him?_

It stunned them both when Angela turned to them calmly, leaning against the island counter. "Okay," she said shortly, as her eyes hardened and zeroed in onto the sleep-tousled pair. "So what're you gonna do about it, Jane?" she demanded instead. Bewildered and caught off-guard, Jane began to sputter, grasping at any line of conversation she could to answer her mother and draw all attention away from the responsibility that Angela had just placed onto her bony shoulders. Angela was adamant though, and glared at her daughter when Jane whirled desperately from a speechless Maura back to her.

"We saw this coming, didn't we? _All _of us." She glanced pointedly at Maura. "Point is, Janie; we can't just leave Tommy to take care of Wyatt all by himself, or ever let that little hussy come crawling back to – to snatch him from us!" Angela rounded the counter, hands planted firmly on her hips as she addressed them with a determined huff. "I am _not _going to let anyone take away my grandson from me, no matter who it is. Tommy or Lydia; it's clear to me that that little boy's mother didn't want nothin' to do with him already – so why should we keep her in the equation?"

Maura glanced at Jane, troubled and thoughtful. In her arms and against her chest, Wyatt wriggled and cooed impatiently – she'd come to recognize his various urges for food or burping or a diaper change. He was hungry again, and she would have to feed him soon before he decided to make his complaints known more insistently. She hugged him closer to her and shifted on the couch. "We don't know that for sure," she countered gently, though it was clear by the scowl that Jane was casting at her that she believed otherwise. "Lydia might have been afraid. Caring for an infant is frightening to do as a single parent – she's so young," she said, and rose to her feet seamlessly while draping Wyatt over her shoulder.

Jane surged to her feet silently, trailing after Maura almost like second nature then as she helped Maura settled Wyatt's formula. The commands and requests were wordless but familiar; Angela watched silently as they moved fluidly between each other, weaving between limbs or bodies – Maura cradling Wyatt gently in the nook of her arm and Jane draping a burping cloth over her shoulder and grasping the bottle in her hand.

"C'mere, little man," she murmured, taking the baby from Maura and settling him comfortably into her elbow before addressing her mother. With a weary sigh, Jane's shoulders seemed to slump in defeat at the sight of Angela's stubborn frown; Maura thought it best to distract herself with dinner while the Rizzoli women hashed things out. "Ma, Tommy's gonna be Wy's father whether we like it or not," she stated plainly; shifting the bottle in hand as Wyatt suckled hungrily. "Knowing that Tommy is his biological father means that if Lydia decides at any moment to pop back in and take him, she could – 'cause all she'd done was leave the little man with family." The scowl deepened on Jane's face, as the flames burned stronger in her dark eyes.

"But if we figured a way to legally keep him ours; take away her rights as his mother –." Jane shrugged, bouncing slightly in place as Maura worked around her to settle dinner. "Maybe we wouldn't have screwed this up as badly as we thought."

Angela watched them silently for a long moment, a frown marring her face as she seemed to give this some very serious considerations. Finally she huffed, and gestured between the two women – where Maura was holding out a spoon for Jane to taste the sauce for the chicken cacciatore. "Well, can't the two of you adopt him or somethin'?" she asked them innocently, peering expectantly at their faces. "You're his aunt, Jane – if you adopt Wyatt, he'd still be a Rizzoli but then Maura could be his mother!"

If she was being honest with herself, watching Jane and Maura vary from losing all color in their faces to burning bright shades of pink was amusing to no end, but Angela kept her poker face on and glared stubbornly at them as they stammered out incredulous excuses and denials. It made sense, didn't it? Of course it did – that was why they were fighting it so hard!

Although, Jane seemed to have a bit of a problem getting over a particularly sore subject her mother had mentioned. "Why am I the Dad?!" Jane exclaimed, oblivious to the way Maura flinched at the shrill tone of her voice. Honestly, it was like _everyone _thought she was a lesbian! A _butch_ lesbian, at that! She threw her free hand up, glancing from Maura to Angela incredulously before shaking her head in disbelief again. They were conspiring against her, she was sure!

"Know what, no – nuh uh." She held out a hand between them, pulling Wyatt closer to her as she struggled to keep her temper in check and to somehow remain the voice of reason in all this. Okay, they've told Angela, and for some reason, she was taking it a lot better than they'd anticipated. Fine, great even. That meant less worries on the Rizzoli forefront. Now she was more worried about Lydia and Tommy. Finally she set her dark eyes on them sternly, narrowing her eyes in warning at Angela when she looked away guiltily. "We are _not _getting into this now, alright? We've got to figure out what Tommy wants to do about this too."

Heaving a breath, Jane draped Wyatt carefully over her shoulder, patting the infant's back gently. Smiling quietly when the boy gave a loud belch, Jane exhaled heavily. "Look, for all we know, Tommy might actually want to be part of Wyatt's life." Something in Jane's face told them that she had no plans for making that reality. "We'll sit him down tonight, talk him through this; if he's got a brain in that head of his, he'll be smart about figuring out what he wants to do about this," she stated firmly, ending the conversation with a stern nod.

Angela and Maura shared an uncertain look, the latter frowning as she regarded the Italian detective rocking the baby in her arms. Even if Maura had to reluctantly concede that Jane made sense, the ME saw something in Angela's eyes that made it clear that whatever intentions that the mother of three had behind all this, it had some direct connection to the fact that she'd walked in on them asleep on the couch. It was hard to read exactly how Angela felt about it; the woman was already busy bustling about the kitchen and shooing them out of it to set the table and to put Wyatt down to help.

With a thoughtful sigh, Maura bent to extract the dishes from her cupboard, and hoped that whatever it was that set roiling heat in her stomach at the touch of Jane's fingers against her skin as she took the plates from her would simply dwindle down for dinner.

They had more things to worry about than the growing connections she seemed to be making with her best friend.

* * *

Maura was wrong.

Dinner was driving her insane.

* * *

**And you're all going to have to wait to figure out why. /runs away**


End file.
